EU Lawmakers Vote On Plan For Uniform Food Labeling In Europe

16th Jun 2010 17:57

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The European Parliament voted Wednesday for new regulations that would harmonize food labeling across the European Union, but left out a controversial "traffic light" color coding system. Under the parliament's plan, food products would have to have labeling on the front of their packaging that lists the number of calories and the Guideline Daily Amounts of sugar, salt, fats, and saturated fats that they contain. Lawmakers also voted to include information about protein, fiber, and trans-fats content elsewhere on the packaging and to prevent additions or changes to the labels at the national level. Alcohol and non-pre-packaged foods, however, would be exempt from the new requirements. The rule would also require labels to display the country of origin for food such as meat, poultry, fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Meats would have to display a three-step label describing the animal's country of birth, upbringing, and slaughter. Among the proposals that were rejected Wednesday was a "traffic light" system that would apply red, amber, and green colors to food labels based on their sugar, salt, and fat content. The parliament's proposals will need backing of the EU's 27 member countries before they can be made law. -By David Tidmarsh, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 (0)2 741 1 489; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 16, 2010 12:57 ET (16:57 GMT)