Healthy eating is very much in the forefront of the fight against rising levels of obesity. To help us make the right choices about what we buy, we need clear, easily-read labelling.

Europe-wide food labelling rules are out of date and the European Commission has proposed new front of pack labelling which includes details of percentages and recommended daily allowances.

I do not believe the proposals go far enough.

The Food Standards Agency in the UK supports the traffic light system, which will be familiar to UK shoppers and which is used by many supermarkets and manufacturers. I would like to see the Commission back this approach across Europe.

Research shows the typical shopper takes only four seconds to decide whether to buy a product after picking it up from the shelves. We need front of pack labelling to be clear and easy-to-understand if we want to help people make healthier choices.
The ‘traffic light’ system is just that – red, amber or green to show whether the level of each nutrient is high, medium or low.

I have been working with the consumer group Which? and with the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) to discuss effective food labelling and, as a member of the European Parliament’s influential Environment Committee, I have submitted amendments to the proposals.

The FSA developed the ‘traffic light’ system following extensive consumer research. It motivates people to think about what they are buying. I think the rest of Europe could also benefit from it.

My amendments seek to roll out the use of the traffic light scheme across Europe.

Another issue on which I am campaigning and am asking the European Parliament to back me on is that of labelling on food of country of origin. I believe that when we buy food products such as chicken or a ready meal we want to know where it comes from. Currently it is only voluntary to provide this information. I would like to see this become mandatory and will be arguing the case for it with my colleagues in the European Parliament. I would also like to put a stop to products claiming to be British when in reality they have only been processed in Britain but the ingredients actually come from elsewhere.