Misleading food labels continue to crowd supermarket shelves. This is denounced by the French consumer association CLCV(Consommation Logement Cadre de Vie), which publishes the outcome of a five-year study and calls on the industry to remedy the situation.
5 years of sampling
From 2017 to 2021, CLCV reviewed labels and nutrient profiles of nearly 900 food products.
The sample includes seven product categories: breakfast cereals, meat dishes, breaded fish, cookies, vegetarian dishes, energy drinks, and yogurt.
Deceptive food labels, the report
Among the most common and effective practices in confusing consumers, the association points out the habit of highlighting valuable ingredients on labels even if they are present in minute quantities. This is the case, for example, with the image of strawberries on the yogurt pot.
‘There isalso the opposite effect: an ingredient used in large quantities because it is inexpensive that is not represented on the package,’ the association complains.
A limit on evocations
Ambiguity about the fine ingredient also invests in product names, with ‘beef dumplings‘ having only 4 percent beef, ‘soy steaks‘ having just 12.5 percent soy, etc. (1)
Labeling evidence of an ingredient is subject to theQuantitative Ingredient Declaration (QUID) rule, which requires that the amount of the ingredient be specified as a percentage in the ingredient list, as we have seen.
However, the French association calls for a revision of the rule, defining minimum thresholds so that ingredients can be highlighted with an image on the packaging or be mentioned in the food name. (2)
Illusory claims
Claims that report health virtues or highlight nutritional benefits can be a misleading pick in consumer confidence.
Products accompanied by Nutrition & Health Claims were often found to be very high in fat, sugar or salt. ‘Information that the packaging doesn’t mention!” points out CLCV, which calls for conditioning the use of Nutrition & Health Claims on the overall nutritional profile of products.
The unfaithful origin
As for the origin of ingredients, the report points out that very often it remains unknown.
The flood of French flags on packages, in fact, very often indicates only the place of packaging or manufacture, but not also the origin of the ingredients.
On the children’s side
Further unresolved issue concerns the poor nutritional profiles of foods aimed at children, as already ascertained by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission. The evidence that much of this food is potentially harmful is well-established, but big industry persists in not changing junk-food recipes.
French consumers’ demand to industry is peremptory. ‘It is essential to establish maximum amounts of additives, flavorings, salt, fat and sugar in children’s products, without waiting for binding regulations.’ Wish it were.
The CLCV report is available at this
link
.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) More examples in the article Traces of PDO and PGI in composite product? Attorney Dario Dongo replies. FARE (Food and Agriculture Requirements), 3.12.19 https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/notizie/domande-e-risposte/tracce-di-dop-e-igp-nel-prodotto-composto-risponde-l-avvocato-dario-dongo
(2) About the current rules, see the article Taste of, flavor of. Attorney Dario Dongo replies. FARE (Food and Agriculture Requirements), 21.8.19 https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/domande-e-risposte/gusto-di-sapore-di-risponde-l-avvocato-dario-dongo
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
