A bold list of EU-wide recommendations aims to streamline and simplify food and drink labelling across the bloc.
Consumers have been left “vulnerable” to potentially unsafe foods and frequently being provided with confusing and inconsistent ingredients, nutrition and general food and drink information, claimed a European Court of Auditors report this morning.
“Food labels are meant to provide clarity, but can sometimes mislead [consumers],” said ECA member Keit Pentus-Rosimannus.
European Union food labelling rules were “pioneering”, but had “not managed to keep up with developments on the market”. This was “leaving consumers lost in the supermarket” trying to decipher claims and information, she added at the report launch today.
The report, which studied the systems of three member states, found a “worrying” number of gaps in the current Food Information to Consumers regulation, as well as problems with checks and penalties across the Union.
Examples of voluntary labelling inconsistencies across member states included front-of-pack labelling, as well as how vegetarian and vegan products were defined.
This meant consumers could become fluent in labelling within one country, but then become vulnerable when crossing the boarder to another, where systems differed.
“Nobody, including the Commission, has an overview of the hundreds of logos and schemes that are used [across member states]. No one is tracking them,” continued Pentus-Rosimannus.
Online retailers, especially those operating outside of the EU, were called out as specific risks, as the ECA report noted it was difficult to determine whether food and drinks from foreign online companies were safe, especially when it came to the increasing number of “suspicious food supplements”, added Pentus-Rosimannus.
Five recommendations to the European Commission were made by the ECA. These were:
1) Address the gaps in the EU legal framework for food labelling
The European Commission must address the pending FIC actions around botanical claims and precautionary allergen labelling, as well as outstanding issues for alcohol origin labelling by 2027.
It was also recommended that the EC evolves food company labelling practices, which add complexity for consumers, including potentially misleading and confusing practices.
There was also a need to address the “multitude” of environmental claims on products that were often “unsubstantiated” and exposed consumers to greenwashing.
2) Step up efforts to analyse labelling practices
Product labels must be regularly and proactively analysed, while member states must also improve guidance to food companies on what is expected.
The EC and member states should better monitor consumer needs to ensure labelling is meeting requirements, including if they understand what labels mean.
This followed a call to increase labelling information campaign funding, with €5.5m spent on food labelling awareness campaigns across member states from 2021.
3) Monitor consumer expectations and take action to improve their understanding of food labelling
With member states, it was essential the EC “systematically” monitored consumer needs and their understanding of food labelling.
It was also essential member states were supported in helping to improve consumers’ understanding of food labelling, “for example, by awareness-raising campaigns or a guide on food labelling for consumers”, said the report.
All member states have controls in place to carry out food labelling rule checks, but were not always up to date.
Mandatory controls worked well, such as for key labelling elements, but guidelines and checks around voluntary labelling were “virtually non-existent”, criticised the report.
There were also only limited checks for online retail, despite increasing sales. “These checks are difficult to carry out when sales are concluded through websites, registered in the EU, and almost impossible when they involve non-EU countries,” it warned.
4) Strengthen member states’ checks on voluntary labels and online retail
Member states should be encouraged to strengthen their checks on voluntary labels and online retail with guidance.
Current labelling reporting arrangements were “cumbersome” and their added value was unclear, despite member states reporting to the EC yearly.
Some member states did not fully complete the EC’s reporting template, the report showed.
There was a lack of clarity on the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed online application, which did not make publicly visible information like which company or product was being identified.
5) Improve reporting on food labelling
The consistency of data reported by member states on controls relevant to food labelling needs to be improved. This includes streamlining member states’ reporting arrangements, specifically when updating the RAS for Food and Feed online application.
But also, improving the quality of data and increase the information shared on food labelling issues with the public on RAS.
