As of: February 2, 2024, 8:09 a.m
By: Teresa Toth
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The EU is tightening the breakfast guidelines: In the future, consumers should know exactly where their honey comes from and how much sugar is in their jam.
Brussels – The EU has agreed to tighten the so-called breakfast guidelines.
The goal is greater transparency for breakfast products for consumers: Where does the product come from?
What exactly does it contain?
Honey, jam and fruit juice are affected by the new guidelines.
product |
the change |
|---|---|
Honey |
Information about the country of origin on the label |
jam |
Higher fruit content |
fruit juice |
New labels for juices with no added sugar |
Breakfast guidelines take action against fraudulent labeling of honey
Late on Tuesday evening (January 30th), negotiators from the European Parliament and the member states agreed on the tightening.
In the future, consumers will be able to find more detailed information about the country of origin on honey jars.
It will no longer be permitted to label honey as “honey from EU and non-EU countries” as is currently the case.
Instead, the label should contain a list of the countries from which the honey comes.
Producers should also indicate the percentage of honey from each country in the total weight.
The agreement was welcomed by Alexander Bernhuber, lead negotiator for the European Parliament (Conservatives), with the words “Both beekeepers and consumers will be better protected from adulterated honey”.
The background is suspicions that imported honey from third countries is mixed with sugar.
For example, a large proportion of the honey imported into the EU comes from China, but this is often not noted on the labels.
The new breakfast guidelines stipulate a higher fruit content for jam
In the future, Brussels will set a significantly higher fruit content for jam: 450 grams per kilogram.
Jams marked “Extra” must consist of half fruit.
This is intended to reduce the sugar content in the products.
A study shows that excessive consumption of sugar can even have an impact on the brain.
For many, jam is an integral part of breakfast.
Soon it will contain less sugar.
© Andrea Warnecke/dpa
Criticism: There is no need to state where the fruits in jams come from
In addition, the reform introduces new labels for fruit juices with no added sugar.
To use the “reduced sugar” label, at least 30 percent of naturally occurring sugar must have been removed.
Sweeteners as a substitute may not be mixed into the drink.
Another label that is intended to show how healthy a product is is the Nutri-Score.
However, this was criticized by Stiftung Warentest.
The EU Commission had originally proposed that jam manufacturers also have to provide information about the countries in which their fruit was grown.
However, the agreement reached on Tuesday evening only provides for such a regulation to be reviewed over the next three years.
The European Parliament and the EU countries still have to formally agree to the compromise.
The member states then have two years to implement the requirements from Brussels.
(tt/afp)