29 Nov. Honey, jams, fruit juices: the Environment Committee has voted!
Honey, jams and fruit juices are on the breakfast table for many of us. However, it is not always clear whether what is inside is what it says! We are often deceived here! As the MEP responsible for the so-called breakfast directives in my Greens/EFA group, it is very important to me to ensure greater transparency and consumer protection.
Today, we have now voted on the Commission's legislative proposals in the European Parliament's Environment Committee. These are the most important results for consumers:
Honey: Anyone who buys honey in the supermarket today cannot be sure whether it is a high-quality product or sugar syrup declared as honey. Fraud is widespread with honey. I have campaigned for traceability to be guaranteed right back to the producing company. I also voted for the country or countries of origin to be indicated on the label.
Filtered honey may no longer be labeled as honey. Heated honey must be labeled as such.
I would have liked to see more transparency when it comes to the addition of honey from third countries: the label should only indicate if 75% or more of the honey in a jar comes from non-EU countries. That is insufficient.
The following applies to jams and fruit juices: the countries of origin of the fruit must be indicated. This means that consumers are better able to choose regional products.
In addition, jams should taste even better in future: at least 450g of fruit must be used per kilo instead of the previous 350g.
Unfortunately, the majority of MEPs have voted in favor of still allowing the label "contains only naturally occurring sugars" to be used on fruit juice - this is misleading, as the label suggests that it is a healthier product. However, fruit juices naturally have a very high sugar content.
We will vote on the report in the plenary session of the European Parliament in mid-December - I will keep you up to date!