European Parliament: clearer information on food for babies and people with special medical needs

18 June 2012

Buying food for someone with specific needs can be trickier than it seems. How do you know if you have got the right product? The Commission proposes to simplify existing legislation, establishing rules only for a limited number of categories of food considered essential for certain groups such as babies or people under medical supervision.
The day before the voting Frédérique Ries, the Belgian Liberal-Democrat responsible for steering the proposal through the Parliament, was interviewed. In her report she suggests that the draft regulation should cover gluten intolerance and certain low calorie diets, which was not in the original Commission proposal. The food involved concerns specific food products that form the basis of real meals (gluten-free food, low-calorie diets) and not just dietary cakes, for instance (News Item European Parliament, 13 June 2012).
The voting took place on 14 June and was supported with 619 votes for and 8 votes against.