The European Parliament on May 16 announced a vote in favour of legislation that will regulate the health claims food manufacturers print on packaging. The Health and Nutrition Claims Regulation, which is expected to be phased in over the next three years, will require companies that wish to use terms such as “low fat”, “high fibre”, or “reduced sugar” on their products to meet strict criteria.
Markos Kyprianou, EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, said: “Food labels have a huge influence over consumers’ choices and it is only reasonable to expect that the claims on them are not false or misleading.” Contact European Commission www.europa.eu
Unilever Choices programme
Unilever has launched Choices, a front of pack logo programme across the world to help consumers identify easily packaged foods and beverages that offer a healthier choice. The logo will help consumers pick foods that have limited amounts of trans fats, saturated fats, sodium and sugars, and are consistent with international dietary guidelines. Products bearing the logo must meet both these guidelines and Unilever’s own nutritional benchmarks, developed as part of its Nutritional Enhancement programme.
Unilever says that it is willing, where possible and appropriate, to open the Choices programme and classifying benchmarks to other parties with the aim of providing a simple consumer-friendly system across companies and categories.
Vindi Banga, president of foods at Unilever, said “…we see it as part of our responsibility to help the consumer in making the healthy choices.” The plan was launched in the Netherlands, and Unilever aims to roll out the Choices programme in key countries by late 2007. Contact Tanno Massar, Unilever 00 31 10 217 4000 www.unilever.com
KFC trans-fats suit
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a US-based nutrition advocacy group, announced on June 12 that it is suing Yum! Brands’ KFC to get the fast food chain either to stop using partially hydrogenated oils in its fried chicken, or to post signs informing customers of its dangers. The oils contain trans fats, which have been shown to cause heart disease. A statement from KFC called the suit “frivolous” and “completely without merit”, noting that they post nutrition information, including trans fat levels, on their website. Yum! Brands also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The suit was filed in Washington DC, and any decision will only be binding there, but the group hopes that a ruling will cause the chain to make changes nationwide. Contact CSPI 00 1 202 332 9110 www.cspinet.org; KFC 00 1 800 225 5532 www.kfc.com
Crunch time for crisps
UK education secretary Alan Johnson published new minimum nutrition standards for school food on May 19. Starting from September, school lunches will be free from fizzy drinks, chocolate and crisps. Deep-fried foods will be limited to two portions a week, and more high quality meat and fish will be available to students.
Ministers have also announced plans to ban foods high in fat and sugar from vending machines and tuck shops in schools. The independent School Food Trust will work with vending providers to promote sales of healthy snacks and drinks such as water, milk, fruit juices and yoghurt drinks. Contact DfES 0870 000 2288 www.dfes.gov.uk ; School Food Trust 020 7273 5205 www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk
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