European Parliament
Tiziano Motti  (PPE ),
in writing.
(IT)
This Parliament does not doubt the European Commission’s good faith, but cannot hide its concerns about a proposal such as the one discussed in plenary today. Consumers want clear labelling and simple nutritional information, not marketing operations disguised as the protection of information rights. Claiming that a foodstuff ‘now contains X% less of [nutrient]’ might lead to unfair competition with regard to existing claims, such as ‘reduced [nutrient]’ and ‘light/lite’. Furthermore, in the latter case, a reduction of at least 10% (for micronutrients), 25% (for sodium) or 30% (for sugars/fats) by comparison with other similar products is required. Effectively, a consumer might assume that the quantified statement in the ‘now contains X% less of [nutrient]’ claim signifies a greater reduction than that implied by the ‘reduced [nutrient]’ or ‘light’ claims, despite the requirements being much stricter for the latter than for the ‘now contains X% less of [nutrient]’ claim, for which a minimum reduction of just 15% is specified. Therefore, I am pleased that Parliament has decided to send the proposal back to the Commission for amendments that will restore the balance of its primary objective.

