Consumer groups lobby MEPs to support nutritional profiling
not be allowed to make a low-fat claim on foods if they are also
high in sugar, according to a survey carried out by the UK consumer
campaign group Which!
The figure provides fuel for European consumer groups lobbying MEPs ahead of tomorrow's vote on health claims regulation in the European Parliament.
The proposed legislation will be the first set of laws on what food companies can claim about the health benefits of their products. However it has been one of the most controversial pieces of European legislation on consumer policy and is considered by consumer groups as "one of the first consumer challenges for this new Parliament".
Article four of the law proposed that any food containing a high content of sugar, salt or fat, would not be permitted to make a health claim. The parliament's environment committee has however entirely deleted the article in a series of amendments discussed and drafted prior to the full plenary vote yesterday.
The move supports room for industry innovation but consumer groups, who consider this article the 'most important' of the entire legislation, are hoping that MEPs will vote against the committee's decision.
"It is essential that the Parliament raises the standard in the plenary vote, otherwise we will continue to find foods with high levels of fat, sugar or salt claiming they are 'good for you' or 'reinforce your immunological defences'," said Jim Murray, director of the European Consumer's Organisation (BEUC), in a statement this week.
BEUC and 38 other consumer campaign groups, including Which!, have attempted to raise consumer attention to the impact of the regulation in order to gain MEP support for article four, considered the fundamental basis of the law.
"With no curbs on the fat, sugar and salt levels in foods claiming to be healthy, it is perfectly legal for manufacturers like Nestlé to make its claim that 'eating..Cheerios may be an easy way to keep your heart healthy', while failing to flag the fact that the cereal is high in salt - a major contributing factor in heart disease," said Which! in a release.
Other products highlighted by the UK-based organisation for misleading consumers include Osteocare, which claims it is 'a complete formula to help maintain strong bones for men and women of all ages'. The actual brand name, according to Which!, implies that it protects against a particular disease.
The online survey carried out by the group also found that 98 per cent of the 1000 consumers that responded want health claims proved before the products reach the shelves.
This supports the draft law's requirement for pre-authorisation of health claims, also amended by parliamentary committees who propose that manufacturers could notify regulatory authorities after placing their products on the market.
Consumer groups also want nutrition claims such as 'low fat' and 'light' to be defined in legislation, and percentage fat-free claims to be banned, "as our research has found that consumers find them confusing".
However neither industry trade associations nor consumer groups are able to predict the result of tomorrow's vote. The law can be further amended prior to a second reading expected at the end of the year, and both sides will use this opportunity to improve on the initial outcome.
