The European Commission has launched a public consultation-from 13.12.21 to 7.3.22, on the ‘Have your say‘ portal (1)-on the hypotheses of reforming reg. EU 1169/11.
The upcoming innovations-already subject to previous consultation (2)-relate to Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling (FOPNL), TMC and expiration date, and origin labeling.
The consultation is also extended to the nutritional profiles of foods, which the European Commission was to establish by 19.1.09. (3,4). Better late than never.
1) Public health needs.
Obesity and overweight are rampant in the EU at an ever-increasing rate. Data collected by Eurostat in 2019 show the average prevalence of these health risk factors(health determinants) in 52.7 percent of the European adult population (>18 years). (5) The associated risks relate to the increased propensity, to a significant extent in obese individuals, for serious and chronic diseases.
So-called Non-Communicable Diseases, NCDs-such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and some cancers-are in addition to psychological problems that likewise affect quality of life. And the resulting social costs-direct and indirect-are already unsustainable. Imbalanced diets are estimated to cause 950 thousand premature deaths each year, in addition to comorbidities on viral infections.
2) Nutritional profiles
The White Paper for Nutrition [COM(2007) 279 final] had identified a number of measures to be taken in the EU to help consumers easily choose balanced foods and incentivize product reformulation by industry and retail. With the goal of reducing intakes of salt (and other sources of sodium), sugar, fat and saturated fat. (7)
Nutritional profiles were introduced to distinguish unbalanced foods, so-called HFSS(High in Fats, Sugar and Sodium), or ‘junk-food‘. With the first aim to prohibit their marketing information from reporting nutritional or health claims, perhaps because of added synthetic minerals and vitamins(nutrition & health claims, reg. EC 1924/06, Art. 4). I nutrition profiles may also apply to Inform consumers about the nutritional properties total foods (WHO Europe, 2015) and limit the marketing of HFSS, especially to children and adolescents (Unicef, 2020) advertised with the reduction and targeting of their marketing so that they are not improperly targeted to children. (2)
3) Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL).
Summary nutrition information on the front of the label (FOPNL) was introduced in the Food Information Regulation (reg. EU 1169/11) through the voluntary scheme of Reference Intakes-or Reference Intakes, along the lines of the Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) developed by Big Food-that is, the systems adopted in the various member countries. FOPNL systems adopted to date in about 40 countries can be distinguished into nutrient specific (information on kcal and nutrient values, also using colors) and synthetic (summary assessments, by binary code, e.g., healthy logo, or graded, e.g., NutriScore. See note 8).
Fig. 1 – FOPNL, options proposed by the European Commission.
The European Commission is now carrying out an impact assessment on four possible solutions (see Fig. 1):
– option 0, business as usual. No reform, no harmonization of systems approved in the various member states. With or without defining nutrient profiles,
– option 1, numerical information. News on kcal, fat and saturated fat, sugar, and salt, with Reference Intake (% of said values, referring to one serving, compared to average daily requirement),
– Option 2, nutrient-specific label with colors. Variant of option 1 with added colors, related to predefined thresholds of kcal, fat and saturated fat, sugar, and salt (e.g., traffic-lights, UK),
– Option 3, endorsement. Synthesis evaluation limited to approval of the nutritional profile of a product. Eg. healthy logo (NL), keyhole system in Scandinavian countries,
– Option 4, graduated indicators. Evaluation in this case includes scoring and/or grading. As is the case with
NutriScore
, A through E.
4) Labeling of origin and provenance
The origin of foods and the provenance of their ingredients is news of great interest to European consumers, farmers and breeders, and consumers. However, big industry has always opposed its mandatory and precise indication, and the European Commission has so far favored the interests of Big Food, as noted above and reconfirmed here. (9)
The options now considered by the European Commission are different from those delegated to it in reg. EU 1169/11, as they only consider foods already subject to mandatory indication of origin and/or provenance at the EU and national level, without providing for its extension to other product categories:
– Option 0, no reform,
– Option 1, EU-non-EU (Planet Earth Origin)
– Option 2, member state or third country,
– option 3, region
– Option 4, undefined mix of options 1-3.
5) Durability(date marking), TMC
The durability term for microbiologically non-perishable foods-‘best before date ‘, so-called minimum shelf life(MCT) or best before date-indicates the optimal period in which they retain their organoleptic properties. (10) However, many consumers tend to forego consumption of products that have passed this deadline, rather than assessing their suitability on a case-by-case basis.
Food waste could also be mitigated, according to the European Commission, through an amendment to reg. EU 1169/11 that could consist of:
– Extend the list of foods excluded from the TMC requirement to a wider variety of non-perishable foods such as pasta and rice, coffee and tea,
– Eliminate the requirement to indicate the TMC,
– improve forms of expression, with wording such as ‘best quality before end‘ or graphic formats that can visibly differentiate TMC and maturity.
Risks and opportunities
The most serious risk in the document under review is business as usual on all fronts. The opportunities outlined in the more advanced options in this document-NutriScore, nutritional profiles, country of origin-meet public health, transparency and agricultural supply chain enhancement needs.
Dario Dongo, with the collaboration of Isis Consuelo Sanlucar Chirinos
Notes
(1) European Commission. Facilitating healthier food choices – establishing nutritional profiles. Public consultation. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12748-Facilitare-scelte-alimentari-piu-sane-definire-profili-nutrizionali_it
(2) Dario Dongo. Reg. EU 1169/11, reform on the horizon. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 5.2.21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/reg-ue-1169-11-riforma-all-orizzonte
(3) Dario Dongo. Nutrition profiles, 10 years of absconding in Brussels. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 19.1.19, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/profili-nutrizionali-10-anni-di-latitanza-a-bruxelles
(4) Dario Dongo. NutriScore and nutrient profiles, updates from Brussels. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.5.21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/nutriscore-e-profili-nutrizionali-aggiornamenti-da-bruxelles
(5) Eurostat (2019). Overweight and obesity – BMI statistics. https://bit.ly/3zUsiCC
(6) Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway (EC). EU burden from non-communicable diseases and key risk factors. https://bit.ly/3nQngCz
(7) Europa-Lex. Nutrition, overweight and obesity: the European Union strategy. Summary of white paper on health aspects related to nutrition, overweight and obesity [COM(2007) 279 final]. https://bit.ly/3I2x9EI
(8) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. How to solve the nutritional conundrum? News on the label front, review and outlook. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 12/29/20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/come-risolvere-l-enigma-nutrizionale-notizie-sul-fronte-etichetta-rassegna-e-prospettive
(9) Dario Dongo. Origin labeling, not a priority for the European Commission. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 5/28/21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/etichettatura-di-origine-non-una-priorità-per-la-commissione-europea
(10) Dario Dongo. Expiration date and TMC, EFSA guidelines for reducing food waste. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 12/20/20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/data-di-scadenza-e-tmc-linee-guida-efsa-per-la-riduzione-degli-sprechi-alimentari
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
