Food (food information, food hygiene and safety, marketing to children)
As part of a broad strategy to tackle obesity and other diet-related diseases, consumers need clear and complete food information to help them make healthy choices easily. The current proliferation of different simplified labelling schemes is causing unnecessary confusion; the lack of full nutrition information on many food products makes it difficult to compare or to choose the most suitable option.
Intensive marketing of unhealthy foods to children is contributing to the current child obesity epidemic in Europe, undermining parents’ efforts to ensure that children follow a healthy diet.
Unfortunately food scandals still occur in the EU, and contaminated food can have adverse effects on consumers’ health. New technologies being used in food (e.g. nanotechnologies) as well as all those products sold to lower cholesterol, reinforce body defenses can bring benefits, but may also present risks. In this context, food safety will always be a key concern for consumers.
What are our objectives?
We aim to...
... Facilitate informed and healthy choices by consumers, including vulnerable groups
... Prevent misleading information and ensure that information can be trusted
... Protect children from the promotion of unhealthy food
... Ensure food sold to consumers is safe
What is needed?
Consumer food choice and food safety will be improved if:
- Food information is complete and easy to understand
- Claims are allowed only on food products with a healthy nutrient profile
- Legislative measures are taken to restrict advertising and promotion of foods high in fat, sugar or salt to children in all media (television, sms, etc)
- High food safety standards are applied and future legislations take into account new technologies
To contact our experts on the issue: foodteam[AT]beuc.eu*
Find out more in our recent documents
Food Information to Consumers: Summary of BEUC position on the Commission proposal
How to help consumers make healthy food choices (BEUC lasagne leaflet)
Nanotechnologies in Food
Novel Foods Regulation: BEUC position on the proposal
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