EFA

As announced in our April eZine, the vote at the European Parliament on the proposal for regulation on “the provision of food information to consumers”is approaching, date for plenary sitting is now 20th of May.MEPs will discuss and vote on the report adopted in the Environment, public health and food safety committee as well as on possible additional amendments. This vote is of historical importance, as Members of the European Parliament have the opportunity to change the lives of people with food allergies and people with food intolerance. Lives of people are at stake as unclear and non-precise allergen labelling can lead to fatal accidents. Food with allergens can be considered unsafe if not properly controlled and labelled. The main concern for people with food allergy and intolerance in this vote is the Parliament Rapporteur’s proposal for non prepacked food. In her report, she proposes that companies selling food (such as bakeries, restaurants, and caterers) should have a sign stating  “cross-contamination cannot be avoided”, which would cancel responsibility of the enterprises for any good practice in managing food allergens and give legal backing to current wild and misleading precautionary labelling practices. In addition this would mean that the current situation for people with food allergy, whereby 7 out 10 severe allergic reactions happen while eating outside, wouldn’t really change. The issue of the clear legibility of the label is also of particular importance in this vote, as font size is constantly pointed out as too small by people with food allergies, often less than 1mm when no book or magazine is printed in less than 2mm! It is EFA’s view that this regulation is an opportunity to seize in order to take into account the daily needs of all European consumers regarding food information, including people with food allergy. Marianella Salapatas, EFA President.