EP approves compromise on food labelling

摘要

On 6 July, members of the European Parliament approved by a large majority (606 to 46 and 26 abstentions) new rules guaranteeing that food labels present essential information clearly and legibly. After three years of negotiations, they backed the compromise worked out in mid-June with the Council (second reading) on the draft regulation on information for consumers on foods. The regulation spells out the information to be shown on labels of prepacked foods and gives the European Commission the task of carrying out impact studies on the most controversial aspects: information on trans fatty acids, indication of origin for foods other than fresh meat, indication of animal slaughter conditions, alcoholic beverages and alcopops (which are not regulated for the moment but may be later, depending on the results of the Commission's studies).