Red light for traffic light food labelling by local MEP

In the European Parliament in Strasbourg today MEPs debated whether the regulations on food labelling should be changed. Local MEP Emma McClarkin stressed that whilst consumers needed concise and clear food labelling they did not want to be dictated to about what they should, and should not, eat.

A traffic light system has been proposed for food labelling but Ms McClarkin has argued that the complex nutritional composition of a food and its place in the diet cannot be reduced to a single colour.

A striking example of the problems with traffic light labelling is evident in the following example where a diet cola drink under the proposed system would be labelled as green whereas a carton of natural apple juice would be amber, or even red, due to the levels of natural sugar in it.

Emma McClarkin comments from Strasbourg:

“During the process of developing the report on food labelling I have had to sit through ludicrous discussions as to whether a Twix bar is classified as one portion or two and what size the font should be on a packet of chewing gum.

“It is clear that the European Parliament has forgotten what is actually important to the consumer.

“Consumers want to know where their food is from and essential information on what is in it, especially allergenic information, to allow them to make the best choice of food product. However, we should not be lecturing to consumers through a simplistic and inaccurate traffic light system on what they should and should not eat.”