Hidden sugar in food

13.7.2017

Question for written answer E-004758-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Dubravka Šuica (PPE)

The EC laws on labelling of ingredients are clear. Manufacturers must emphasise the quantity of certain ingredients in a product and include a list of all ingredients. Sugar is one of the main causes of obesity, which is becoming increasingly threatening to citizens of the Union, of whom as many as 51.6% have a problem with excess body weight. Obesity is directly associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, certain tumours, and many other diseases. Manufacturers avoid regulations by using other names for sugar on packaging and thus harm consumers. Hidden sugars are ingredients in food and drink that are not referred to as sugar but have the same or similar effect.

Have the Commission’s existing directives and provisions sufficiently protected the consumers’ rights and, at the same time, obliged manufacturers to present the ingredients in a transparent manner?