The EU is starting to get serious about labelling on food in an attempt to get people eating healthily and to stop eating rubbish. Researchers are constantly pointing to the fact that proper balanced diet is the first line of defence against food related illness especially cardio disease, diabetes and cancers. Many food labels give the impression that what you are eating is healthy but the rules are vague and can be misleading sometimes. New EU laws are being enacted to safeguard the consumer from spurious claims.

For example a product that says 'low fat' on it doesn't mean that it is low in calories and it may contain alot of sugar which can affect weight too. Often consumers use labels to reassure themselves that they are eating healthily and often this is not the case. In fact a study by the EU consumer group called BEUC noted that EU citizens often relied on labelling and advertising for nutrition advice when looking for a healthy diet and that they often bought a product as a result of the claim on the labelling.

The new EU law seeks to have regulations on words like natural and traditional which give an aura of healthiness to aproduct when in fact this is not the case. Another word used a lot is organic denoting that it was grown without artificial fertilizers however this doesn't mean the product is healthy and the product is likely to have the same amount of fat and calories compared to other non organic products.

Other labels saying things like 90% fat free should really say 10% fat which would make you think twice about buying the product and at present anything over 3% is not allowed to call itself low fat, yet this 90% fat free lebel is implying just that.

On the 16th May MEPs voted to bring in the new law which says that all nutrition and health claims must be cleared by the European Food Security Agency before they can be used on the labelling of a product and in advertising campaingns. Other rules stipulate that food that are high in salt, sugar or fat must not purport to be healthly. At present no food will be actually banned from sale but the new EU law will require that food manufacturers badck up the claims or change the labels on the product.