Policy Insights - Food labelling

Labelling helps consumers to make informed choices about the food and drink that they buy. Food labelling can thus support the transition to sustainable food systems and facilitate the shift towards healthy, sustainable diets in the EU. It also reflects and promotes the cultural richness and diversity of EU food products. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provides enabling roles to help EU food systems take advantage of better labelling. 

An EU legal framework for consumer protection in relation to food information establishes the general principles, requirements and responsibilities governing food information, and in particular food labelling. Europe’s existing policy context for food labelling continues to evolve, including through the Farm to Fork Strategy’s ambitions and the initiative for a Sustainable EU food system. 

This article illustrates the overall context for food labelling in the EU and touches upon the potential use of CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) for communication actions aimed at promotion, communication and marketing, including actions and activities aimed, among other, at raising consumer awareness about the importance of healthy diets through Producer Organisations, specialised farm advisory services or cooperation initiatives. It also looks at systems currently in place to ensure food labelling is reliable.