Food rules: What's cooking in the Parliament

Food legislation is on the menu in the EP. MEPs have votedon proposals about GMOs, food labelling and will vote on food quality. The main idea is to give consumers more information, choice and quality. It will be up to them to choose what they eat - but Parliament's decisions will allow them to make a more informed decision.

What's on the plate?

• In July the Plenary approved a proposal to allow EU countries to ban or restrict the cultivation of GMOs (on environmental grounds). The new law will not change the current authorisation procedure by the European Commission, which is based on health concerns.

• Also in July, the Plenary agreed that food labels should be simpler, clearer (with no fine print) and provide information not only on ingredients, but also about things like trans fats or allergens that may pose a risk to health.

• New rules on food quality were presented to the Agriculture Committee in April proposing a quality system for agricultural products, geographical indication and guidelines. It will introduce the compulsory labelling of place of farming and will make it easier to promote traditional food. The first reading in the plenary is scheduled for September.

• After the failure of the conciliation procedure on novel foods MEPs called on the European Commission to prepare a new proposal as soon as possible. The EP and the Council couldn't agree on cloned food - the EP wanted to ban food production from cloned animals and their offspring, the Council supported a ban only on "the first generation" food. 

As the legislation moves through the EP over the coming months we will update the feature, so check back to find out the latest about votes in the committees and plenary.