Text tabled : A7-0109/2010

  João Ferreira (GUE/NGL), in writing. – (PT) Consumers have a fundamental right to know as much as is possible and justifiable about the composition of foodstuffs. Such knowledge is also a necessary – though not sufficient – condition for them to make informed, conscious decisions about their diet and, as such, it helps promote people’s health and welfare. We acknowledge and endorse the fact that the structure of the proposal applies essentially to prepacked foods. The specific characteristics of the catering sector, a large part of which consists of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, must be safeguarded, since the meals they prepare cannot be regarded as standardised products.

We regret, however, that many important amendments have been rejected, leaving the content of the report significantly poorer. We can only think that the majority in this Parliament has given in to the interests of certain powerful sectors of the food industry.

By way of an example, note the rejection of the amendment requiring consumers to be informed ‘whenever the product intended for consumption is a GMO product and/or contains derivatives and substances that may be classified as GMOs’.