UK’s FDF opposes Europe-wide labelling regulations
The UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has voiced its opposition to the introduction of regulations governing nutrient and guideline daily amount (GDA) labelling on food products at a European level.
Speaking at the FDF’s biscuit, cake, chocolate and confectionery (BCCC) sector group annual conference last week (6 April), BCCC chairman Nick Stuart said that the BCCC was working within European trade bodies to present a unified voice on such issues. With 85% of food legislation affecting UK companies coming from Brussels, Stuart insisted that it was vital for the UK food industry to voice its position on such issues in Europe.
“This is very important for our industry because some of the measures being proposed are quite Draconian,” he warned his audience.
Currently, debate in the EU on the labelling of guideline daily amounts (GDAs) is considering the stipulation that all products would carry GDAs on their labels and this could possibly be front of pack. However, Stuart argued that this would be an inappropriate measure for a number of products that come under the BCCC’s remit, such as gift boxes of chocolate.
On nutrient claims, Stuart insisted: “We are literally at last chance saloon here. If we are not allowed to say “zero salt” – if we are not allowed to tell consumers we have made some changes – what is the point?”
Meanwhile, he added that country of origin labelling regulations on ingredients would be problematic for the industry because suppliers change based on various factors – such as seasonality or price negotiations. The need to change labelling each time a new supply contract was negotiated could cost industry “millions of pounds”, Stuart warned.
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Labels should be on our agenda as well. Country of Origin was raised as an issue in late 2009 by the Senate and still nothing has been done. Consumers want Country of Origin but companies do not because they may have to tell where they really source their foods regardless of seasonality and still say made in Australia. Or itn eh case of New Zealand Made in New Zealand when much of the food so labelled is imported from China with whom they have a Free Trade Agreement in Agriculture. More food comes out of NZ than is grown there, while companies like McCanns close factories here to set up there.