BEUC NEWS - 19.12.2022

Consumer and public health organisations have today urged the European Commission to come forward with its proposal on a front-of-pack nutrition labelling as soon as possible. BEUC, the European Heart Network and the European Public Health Alliance have sent a joint letter to relevant EU Commissioners.

While rates of overweight and obesity for both adults and children in Europe remain at worrying high levels, not enough is being done to help fight the root causes of this public health crisis. At the same time, front-of-pack nutritional labelling, backed up by robust independent scientific evidence, has been clearly recognised by health experts as one which can tangibly help make the healthier choice the easier choice for consumers.¹  

As the debate on this information tool becomes increasingly polarised and less grounded in scientific evidence, BEUC and the health groups urge the Commission to not lose sight of the central purpose of this policy tool: to help consumers to make healthier choices in time-pressured environments such as busy supermarkets.

This means a front-of-pack nutrition label which uses colour codes, based on uniform reference amounts and with proven efficacy in helping consumers to understand and compare food and drink based on their nutritional value.

Background:

Read the joint letter
BEUC’s position on Front of pack Nutrition labelling, 2019.

¹ Manual to develop and implement front-of-pack nutrition labelling: guidance for countries on the selection and testing of evidence-informed front-of-pack nutrition labelling systems in the WHO European Region. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2020. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO