Products intended for human consumption: amendment of some Breakfast Directives

The only effective way to combat “fake honeys” is transparent information and mandatory pre-marketing checks and analyses. As long as analysis is optional, we will continue to see fraud.
The breakfast reform is a great opportunity to tackle the sugar that is all too present on our plates, to provide consumers with more information about the origin of products and to encourage the purchase of local products. We welcome the MEPs' call for the countries of origin of fruit to be used in fruit and jams and the increase in fruit content in jams, reducing the added sugar needed for jams.Weight problems and obesity are increasing rapidly in most EU Member States, affecting 1 in 2 adults and 1 in 3 children. Overweight and obesity are a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which account for 77% of the disease burden in the European region and represent the bulk of countries' health expenditure, costing EU economies 115 billion euros, or 0.8% of GDP, annually.Consumers must have clear information about the food they eat to help them make healthy choices. The General Food Law prohibits misleading consumers, but it is a common practice.

The European Commission's proposal of “no added sugar” in fruit juices is a gratuitous and misleading advertising slogan for the food industry. In fact, a glass of juice contains almost as much sugar as a glass of fizzy drinks (in Belgium, Minute Maid orange juice contains 11.6g of sugar per 100g and regular Coca-Cola 10.6g/100ml).Fruit juices are rich in sugars, the “natural sugars” in fruit juices have the same implications for consumers' health as added sugars. Sugars can be considered naturally present and intact when they are present in whole fruits, vegetables or milk. When we squeeze the fruit and remove the fiber, the naturally occurring sugar has a different effect. It is called free sugar and should be treated in the same way as added sugars, i.e., according to the EFSA, consumed “as little as possible”.The introduction of a new category of “low-sugar fruit juices” is a waste of time. The Commission doesn't specify what the processes would be, which ingredients would be taken away or eliminated, or what the health effects or benefits for consumers would be.

I voted in favor.

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