Food labelling should be easier to understand, say MEPs

Food labels in the EU should be easier to understand and should contain more information, members of European Parliament have said.

Despite voting against the enforcement of an EU-wide "traffic light" system to show key food ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat, MEP's have suggested that more advice should be readily available to enable consumers to make informed choices based on a product's energy content and nutritional value.

The report from the European Parliament's environment committee lays out draft legislation which aims to modernise, simplify and clarify food labelling within the European Union.

It recommends making minor changes to existing rules regarding compulsory information on food labels, such as the product's name, a list of ingredients and "best before" or "use by" date.

MEP's also suggested an additional requirement to list key nutritional information.

Paul Lincoln, chief executive of the National Heart Forum, has criticised the decision by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) not to introduce compulsory "traffic light" labelling, saying that consumers are being "denied the most useful scheme on the market".

Posted by Philippa Atkins