In its Farm to Fork Strategy, published in May 2020, the European Commission committed to ‘propose harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling’ (‘FoPNL’) to ‘empower consumers to make informed, healthy and sustainable food choices’ by the fourth quarter of 2022. This commitment was repeated in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan in February 2021. The deadline has now passed and the promised proposals do not seem forthcoming. This is all the more disappointing considering there is strong support for the implementation of an EU-wide harmonized FoPNL scheme, as demonstrated by the results of the EU consultation on ‘Food labelling—revision of rules on information provided to consumers’ published in December 2021. Such support is not surprising considering the significant advantages that the adoption of a harmonised FoPNL scheme has for consumers, traders, Member States and the EU alike.
Photo credit: Unsplash
