Kieran Phelan (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to say a few words on this issue. It is a most welcome development and I thank the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny for the publication of its report on the European Union proposal for a regulation on the provision of food information to consumers. In the general interest of all consumers across the European Union, a regulation to modernise and improve EU food labelling rules would be highly welcome. The issue of food labelling is highly complex, as there are varying and often conflicting demands and views from different interest groups. There also is an increasing number of policy areas at EU level in which it is considered that labelling may have a role to play to help achieve their goals.

This report examines a proposal from the European Commission which, if agreed, would change the EU food labelling rules that govern food-related information provided to consumers. From the consumer's point of view, consumers may be interested in getting additional information which, while it may not be regarded as essential from a safety point of view, may be important to the consumer because of other concerns, such as health, concerns with regard to the sustainability of the production of the product and animal welfare concerns. As with operators in the food industry, it must be remembered that there is no single profile of a consumer. Rather, there are multiple consumers.