EU Health Council conclusions on reformulation

June 21th, 2016

At 17 June the EU Health Council, chaired by the Dutch Minister of Health Edith Schippers, has accepted the conclusions on food improvement. In these conclusions the EU Health Council shares its concerns about the prevalence of overweight, obesity and other diet-related non-communicable diseases in the European population. As nutrition plays an important role in these problems, the council stresses that the healthy choice should be made the easy choice for consumers. Special attention has to be paid for low income consumers. Food improvement by means of reformulation is an important tool to do so.

Reformulation in all food categories is required, especially in the so-called mainstream products. The council recognises that cooperation between different stakeholders and especially collaboration with the industry is of essence to reach these goals. Moreover, in the conclusions member states are urged to have a national plan for product improvement ready by the end of 2017, to make the healthy choice easier for consumers by 2020. These national plans should make full use of existing structures and tools. The nutrients at stake are SAFA, added sugar, salt and energy; similar to the Choices criteria. In line with this, the council acknowledges existing sets of criteria, e.g. for labelling schemes such as Choices. Furthermore, in the conclusions it is highlighted that cross-border cooperation in food improvement is required, and that more effort in research and monitoring is needed.

Choices International welcomes these conclusions as a next step towards a Europe wide movement towards healthier food.

Read the full conclusions here (PDF).