Emma McClarkin MEP: New EU food labelling rules empower consumers to make better choices

New EU food labelling rules adopted today by the European Parliament will give consumers greater information regarding country of origin for meat and nutritional qualities, East Midlands Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin said today.

The vote today marks the culmination of almost four years of work, which has seen an agreement reached between the parliament and national governments.

The new regulation will see all fresh meat given a Country of Origin Label and there will be further investigation by the European Commission into whether such labelling can also be extended to milk, dairy products, meat in processed foods, single ingredient products and ingredients that represent more than 50 percent of a food.

The law will also require mandatory back of pack nutritional labelling with at least the energy value together with fat, saturates, sugars and salt per 100ml or 100g. Front of pack labelling will be voluntary.

Alcohol will also be exempted for three years so that an assessment can be made on possible labelling requirements which would be more appropriate and take into account the need to define beverages such as alcopops which are targeted at young people.

Emma, who is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists group and Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, said:

“Consumers will get clearer information about the food they buy right across the EU. Labelling needs to be clear and relevant but it should not be overcomplicated or burdensome of food producers.

“Country of Origin labelling for meat is a significant step forward. With increasing awareness of food miles and product traceability it is all the more important that we have honest labelling that gives consumers the power to make informed choices.”