MEPs reject objection to list of food health claims

Environment committee votes to keep list of health claims that can be used on food labels.

Members of the European Parliament’s environment committee today rejected an objection to a proposed list of health claims allowed on food labels in the EU.

Chris Davies, a UK Liberal MEP, and Sirpa Pietikäinen, a Finnish centre-right MEP, had called for the list, which was compiled by the European Commission, to be redrawn.

Campaign groups, including the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), had also called on MEPs to block the Commission’s proposal, saying the list was inflexible and the assessment methods used by the European Food Safety Authority in drawing up the list were flawed.

Adam Smith of ANH said that most MEPs he had spoken to agreed that the list was flawed. “But they now seem to be fed up with it and many seem to want to push it through, saying it can be fixed once the highly deficient preliminary list of permitted health claims has been signed off by the Parliament,” he said.

Once the list comes into effect, foodmakers will be able to choose from 222 claims of health benefits on their labels.

Health campaign group FoodDrinkEurope and consumer group BEUC welcomed the result of today’s vote.

“The vote will stop consumers from being misled by unsubstantiated, exaggerated or untruthful claims about foodstuffs,” said Monique Goyens, director-general of BEUC. “Only genuine health claims will be allowed to remain on the market.”

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