SNP President Ian Hudghton MEP has
welcomed today's proposal from the European Commission to tighten up
the rules that apply to food labelling in the European Union. The
new rules would apply to all pre-packed food sold in shops across
the EU.
The SNP MEP is a long standing
supporter of measures to improve food safety and promote nutritious
food.
The new plans will mean that
pre-packed food will have to carry a label on the front of the
product with key nutritional information including energy, fat, salt
and carbohydrate content. This will also be shown against the
recommended daily allowance.
Mr. Hudghton commented:
"I broadly
welcome these proposals. They should help improve consumer choice,
and allow the consumer to make a more informed decision before
buying prepacked foods. With obesity and eating related illnesses
at such high levels we need to do all we can to tackle this health
time bomb.
"The
compulsion to put clear and simple labelling prominently on the
front of packed foods is the right step to take. Finding clear,
simple and unbiased information on what we eat shouldn't be such a
challenge and these new rules should help make life easier."
Ends
Note - The European Commission
today published a proposal on food labelling which would require a
minimum set of nutrition and allergen information to be placed on
labels on the front of pre-packed food sold in shops and
restaurants. This information would include energy, fat, saturated
fat, carbohydrate, salt per 100ml/g or portion and in proportion to
the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance). It would also require all
foods containing allergenic substances to be labelled as such, and
for the sake of clarity would require a print size of at least 3mm.
