European Cancer Organisation Response to European Commission Consultation on the Revision of EU legislation on Food Information to Consumers

14 April 2022

In March 2022, the European Cancer Organisation (ECO) responded to a European Commission consultation on the revision of EU legislation on food information to consumers. ECO provided their response on both front-of-pack nutrition labelling/the establishment of nutrient profiles and alcoholic beverage labelling.

In response to this consultation, the European Cancer Organisation emphasised that:

  • Front-of-pack labelling is important to help consumers understand how healthy a product is. Systems such as the Nutri-Score make nutrition information understandable and assist consumers in making better choices for their health
  • Considering excess body fat is associated with nine cancer sites (esophagus, colorectum, gallbladder, pancreas, postmenopausal breast, endometrium, ovary, kidney, and prostate), providing clearer, more uniform and more accessible information to consumers to assist their dietary choices can aid efforts in cancer prevention
  • A list of ingredients and nutritional information should be provided to consumers for alcoholic beverages as is the case for other foods and beverages. The current exemptions on this should be removed.
  • Alcohol consumption is associated to 7 types of cancer: Mouth, upper throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, liver and colorectal cancer
  • Mandatory health warnings on alcohol labelling, alongside other policy actions, would support the Beating Cancer Plan’s goals on cancer prevention

Read the full response here.

View the original consultation here.