Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
|
|
Commission Document, 20 May 2020
 |
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL regarding the use of additional forms of expression and presentation of the nutrition declaration The full report can be found on the Eur-Lex site (click on the image) |
The following is the Introduction to the report:
INTRODUCTION
This report responds to the obligation set for the Commission by Article 35(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/20111 on the provision of food information to consumers (the FIC Regulation). This provision requires the Commission to submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the use of additional forms of expression and presentation of the nutrition declaration, on their effect on the internal market and on the advisablility of further harmonisation of those forms. This provision also states that the Commission may accompany the report with proposals to modify the relevant Union provisions.
As from December 2016, the FIC Regulation requires the vast majority of pre-packed foods2 to bear a nutrition declaration, often provided on the back of food packaging, to allow consumers to make informed and health-conscious choices. This declaration can be complemented by a voluntary repetition of its main elements in the principal field of vision (known as the ‘front-of-pack’), in order to help consumers to see at a glance the essential nutrition information when purchasing foods. For this repetition, other forms of expression and/or presentation (e.g. graphical forms or symbols) can be used on the front-of-pack (FOP) in addition to those contained in the nutrition declaration (e.g. words or numbers).
In the light of the experience gained with these additional forms of expression and/or presentation of the nutrition declaration, the Commission was requested to adopt a report on their use and impact by 13 December 2017. Considering the limited experience in this area in the past years and some recent developments at national level, the adoption of the report was postponed with a view to include the experience with recently introduced schemes. The present report goes beyond the scope of Article 35 of the FIC Regulation (i.e., additional forms of expression and/or presentation repeating the information provided in the nutrition declaration) and includes also schemes that are providing information on the FOP on the overall nutritional quality of foods, since such a differentiation would not be pertinent from a consumer’s perspective.
This report presents the main FOP nutrition labelling schemes currently implemented or being developed at EU level, as well as some of the schemes implemented at international level. It also addresses consumer understanding, effectiveness and impacts of FOP schemes. This report builds upon literature reviews and data gathered and analysed by the Joint Research Centre on the topic and extensive consultation carried out by the Commission with national competent authorities and relevant stakeholders.
