European consumers face confusing and misleading food labels, including issues related to allergen information and expiration dates, according to an audit report.
The European Court of Auditors said labels should help people make informed decisions when buying food. However, consumers will be exposed to an increasing number of claims, logos, slogans, labels and scores.
“Far from providing clarity, food labels too often cause confusion. There are hundreds of different schemes, logos and claims that people need to decipher,” says European Accountant. said Kate Pentus Rocimannus, a member of the Board of Auditors.
The audit covered labels from 2011 to 2023. The auditors met with the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety and the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development, and with authorities in Belgium, Italy and Lithuania.
Allergen and expiry date data assignment
Regulations require that allergens be highlighted in the ingredient list. However, people with food allergies can be faced with overly cautious labeling and ambiguous language such as “may contain.” The lack of harmonized rules at EU level limits choices. Although companies may apply the wording “may contain” as a safeguard, the use of this statement is not necessarily based on a risk assessment that quantifies the presence of the allergen. Implementing legislation on preventive allergen labeling has not yet been adopted by the European Commission.
The confusion is further exacerbated by the increasing number of voluntary labels, logos, and claims used to attract consumers. These include “clean” labels regarding the absence of certain elements, such as “antibiotic-free,” and uncertified qualities such as “fresh” or “natural.”
The EU has allocated only about 5.5 million euros ($5.77 million) for food labeling awareness campaigns from 2021 to 2025, and consumer campaigns by member states have been sporadic. For example, date labeling is required but poorly understood, and the meanings of ‘use by’ and ‘best by’ dates are confused.
Companies can also exploit weaknesses in checks and penalties. For example, when it comes to online food sales, it is almost impossible to control websites outside the EU. Regarding infringements, EU auditors concluded that fines are not necessarily deterrent, effective or proportionate.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in food sales through e-commerce and an increase in complaints about online stores have been observed in all three Member States visited. Information about such products can be misleading and their consumption may even be unsafe.
Sharing information with the public
The auditors found that member states’ control systems can be complex and often involve multiple authorities, which can lead to weak monitoring, reporting and sanctions.
The EU Commission makes some information communicated by Member States publicly available through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal, but details that could identify the product, such as the product name and the companies involved, are not made public. I haven’t. For example, consumers could not find the product name on the portal during the recall. Alternatively, this information may be available in stores or through national authority information channels.
“This makes it difficult for consumers to use the portal to learn about food safety issues and change their purchasing habits accordingly,” the auditors said.
The auditors recommended that the EU Commission should improve data quality and increase information sharing with the public on food labeling issues when updating RASFF.
“The worst thing about the ECA report is that it highlights not so much a lack of capacity but a lack of political will in EU institutions to protect the rights of 450 million EU consumers rather than powerful industry interests. The size of the food label may be small. They are also very important. They shape the eating habits of millions of people and therefore have a huge impact on the health of European consumers. Susie Sumner said.
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