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GDAs in Europe

GDA Labelling is gaining in popularity among food and drink producers in Europe.

On 16 June 2010 MEPs voted in plenary in the European Parliament on the Food Information Proposal. MEPs supported GDAs on a mandatory basis and energy front of pack; FDF members have long supported GDA labelling as the best way to help consumers make informed choices about the food they buy, and we are pleased to see MEPs have backed this approach. There is still much work to be done, however this is a big step to providing consumers with the correct labelling scheme. This is only the first step in a lengthy process to agree the Regulation.

The Council is also negotiating the dossier, and the European Parliament is due to have a second reading in Spring 2011. So we expect the Regulation to be adopted in summer 2011 with a three to five-year transition period for the new requirements.

European legislation impacting GDAs

In June 2006, the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries (CIAA) introduced an EU set of GDAs based on Eurodiet recommendations (pdf, 172kb). The Eurodiet project, funded by the European Commission, provided a framework for national food-based dietary targets and an action plan for the development of European dietary guidelines.

In 2007 the European Commission published the white paper (pdf, 46kb) on a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity-related health issues, which stressed the need for consumers to have access to clear, consistent and evidence-based information. In this paper the Commission highlighted that nutrition labelling is an important tool to inform consumers about the composition of the foods and help them make an informed choice.

In its consumer policy strategy 2007-2013 the Commission underlined that allowing consumers to make informed choices was essential both to effective competition and consumer welfare. As a result, on 30 January 2008 the European Commission published its proposal for a regulation on Food Information to Consumers (pdf, 312kb).

The proposal asks for a mandatory front of pack nutrition labelling scheme recognising percentage reference intakes (GDAs), with the aim that the proposal will facilitate better informed food choices.

The White Paper also highlighted certain nutritional components of importance to public health such as salt, fat and saturates (saturated fat) which has subsequently been picked up in the proposal.

GDA labels gain ground in Europe

In July 2008 research conducted by APCO Worldwide Insight[7] showed that small and medium-sized enterprises were following the lead of large food companies in introducing GDA labels across a broad range of products on a voluntary basis.

A representative survey of 2,026 food and drink producers - including both multinational companies and family-owned butchers and bakers - was conducted in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Among other highlights, the research revealed:

• Nearly half of all respondents (44%) are voluntarily labelling their products with GDA information
• While large companies lead the way, with some 65% saying they have introduced or are planning to introduce GDA labels, some 58% of medium-sized companies and 34% of small companies are also using or planning to use GDA labels
• 79% of those companies using GDA labels expect to include them on more than half of their product range.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently establishing EU Dietary Reference Values for energy, macro- and micronutrients. EFSA has been asked by the European Commission to review and update the earlier Scientific Committee for Food recommendations.