Foodlaw-Reading Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Food Law News - EU - 2021

EFSA News Item, 3 February 2021

NUTRITION LABELLING - Commission requests EFSA’s scientific advice to inform harmonised front-of-pack labelling and restriction of claims on foods

Request for a scientific opinion on development of harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and the setting of nutrient profiles for restricting nutrition and health claims on foods The document is available on the EFSA website (click on image).

Our nutrition scientists will provide scientific advice to support the development of a future EU-wide system for front-of-pack nutrition labelling. It will also inform the setting of conditions for using nutrition and health claims on foods.

According to the action plan for the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission intends to submit, by the end of 2022, a proposal for harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and for the setting of nutrient profiles to restrict the promotion of food high in, for example, salt, sugars and/or fat.

The European Commission has asked EFSA to provide scientific advice on:

• Nutrients of public health importance for European populations, including non-nutrient components of food (e.g. energy, dietary fibre)
• Food groups which have important roles in the diets of European populations and subgroups
• Criteria to guide the choice of nutrients and other non-nutrient components of food for nutrient profiling.

The request to EFSA does not include developing a nutrient profiling model or advising on current profiling models already in use for different purposes.

Our experts will assess recent scientific information, including such sources as:

• Published reviews on dietary recommendations for healthy diets based on evidence from studies on humans
• EFSA’s own work on dietary reference values and nutrient profiles
• National food-based dietary guidelines in European countries
• A comprehensive review of front-of-pack labelling schemes provided by the European Commission.

EFSA is required to deliver its scientific opinion by March 2022. We will consult publicly on the draft by the end of 2021.