The European Union has a long-standing commitment to ensuring that consumers have clear and reliable information when buying food. Clear labels help people make better choices about what they put in their cart and subsequently on their plate. Yet, according to a 2024 report by the European Court of Auditors, food labelling still faces challenges that can consumer choices difficult.

One common shortcoming is the labelling of food origin.

For example, meat labelled ‘produced in the EU’ may come from animals reared in one country, slaughtered in another and processed elsewhere. Such information is insufficient for many consumers because it does not make it clear where the food actually comes from.

Another problem is voluntary labels such as ‘natural’ or ‘traditional’. These terms are not uniformly defined across the EU and can be used as a marketing gimmick rather than a true indicator of quality. Consumers may unintentionally be misled and buy a product that does not match their expectations.

For the EU as a whole, there is still no agreed list of health claims for plant products and no uniform rules for labelling vegetarian and vegan foods. Some Member States have their own approaches in this area, but this leads to uneven consumer access to food information across the EU, making it difficult to make informed choices and compare products between countries.

The European Court of Auditors points out that there is not enough monitoring of whether people actually understand labels. Manufacturers should ensure that information on packaging is clear and provides everything needed to make informed choices. It therefore recommends systematic evaluation of consumer perception of labels and further improvements to the rules.

So what can you as a consumer do now? Pay attention to the details on packaging, check the ingredients, origin and nutritional values. If you are not sure what the information on the label means, contact trustworthy sources such as consumer organisations or inspection bodies.

As recommended by the European Court of Auditors, the rules and inspections should continue to improve to make the information on packaging more accurate and easier to understand. The aim is to ensure that consumers can buy with confidence that they are getting exactly what the manufacturer promises.

To this end, the European Commission should provide guidance and examples of good practice to the Member States in order to support them in strengthening inspections of voluntary food labelling and online retailing.

This article was published in dTest 01/2025.