In order to standardize the food labelling rules adopted so far in some Member States, the EU institutions are preparing for a tough confrontation. Last August in Germany the Council of Ministers gave the green light to the voluntary use of Nutriscore, the so-called “traffic light labelling” already adopted by a dozen countries including France, Austria, Belgium, Spain and, before that, Great Britain and Switzerland.
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The Italian Government, at the request of Federalimentare’s member companies, has long since expressed its opposition to Nutriscore, opting for the battery label system called Nutrinform which is also supported by Greece, Cyprus, and other Eastern European countries.
MEP Paolo De Castro – currently a member of the Agriculture, Budget and International Trade Committees – has dealt with the issue several times. “Traffic lights food labelling – says De Castro – is a deeply flawed method to assess the nutritional value of food and beverages. And this because the Nutriscore, advocated by some multinationals and large food retail chains, with its simplistic association of products with the colors green, yellow and red based on salt, sugar and fat content – but without indicating the nutritional values contributed by the individual intakes of food – ends up misleading the consumer at the time of purchase.”
