More stringent EU food-labelling rules

It was reported by Reuters that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted on 16 June 2010 in Strasbourg, France to strengthen controversial draft rules on food labelling that aim to fight rising levels of obesity in Europe.

The supported food labeling rules requires companies to label the energy, sugar, salt and fat content of their foodstuffs on the front of packages as well as added protein, unsaturated fats and fibre to this list.

The proposed additional rules also included a requirement for country-of-origin labels on meat, dairy, and fruit and vegetables, as well as meat and fish products used in processed food

Meanwhile, the result of the votes rejected mandatory "traffic light" labels on certain convenience foods and soft drinks, with red, amber or green colour codes showing the relative amounts of salt, sugar and fat they contain.