Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-31-Speech-3-199"
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"en.20070131.22.3-199"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to thank all the Members for the very interesting discussion. I am glad to see that we are thinking along the same lines.
First of all I would like to say that of course we all agree that it is an individual’s choice at the end of the day. We will not put the food on the consumer’s table, and we cannot make them eat or not eat something. But at the same time we have a responsibility to make sure that consumers can make an informed choice, which means education, that is true, but it also means making sure that the information they receive is accurate, truthful, correct and science-based with reference to health claims. I note the call for nutritional labelling. That is something we are working on.
We need to make sure that consumers get sufficient, understandable information so that they can make their choices. That goes for the citizens and the parents who have to make choices for their children, and they do have a responsibility to say ‘no’ every now and then. This is also an important factor, because we do not want to ban any food. I should like to make that clear. We do not want to exclude any food from the diet of the consumers. I cannot imagine a child growing up and never having an ice cream or a chocolate bar, but they do not have to have ten a day, and this is a question of moderation. This is a challenge for all of us. I also understand that advertising to children is an important issue. I think the compromise reached when we discussed the Television Without Frontiers Directive is a prudent one, but we are also working, as you know, on self-regulation within the industry to make sure that it is responsible in this respect.
We have always said that it is more practical and much faster to go with self-regulation to a great extent, but we have always said in the Commission that if that does not work, then we will not hesitate to come back and take more binding measures.
I am sorry Mrs Breyer is not here, but I have to say that this Commission has been very ambitious and courageous on many issues – I am referring to tobacco and alcohol and also to raising these issues. You will remember two years ago, when I first started presenting these issues on behalf of the Commission, the reaction that came from various sides. But now we are having this debate. We are now discussing a Green Paper. It is a strategy that will formulate what the next actions are going to be.
Product reformulation is a very important factor for us. We are working on and studying the issue of trans fatty acids. I can assure you that I know the situation on that. It is a challenge. We have to make sure that if they are removed, nothing worse replaces them. That is something on which we will be working closely with EFSA.
The factor that we always have to remember is the social dimension, and the issue of inequality when it comes to health harm arising from obesity, because unfortunately, it does mostly affect lower-income families. That is a reality. So we have an increased responsibility to act in this respect.
In conclusion I would like to say that I thank you all again for a very interesting debate. I am looking forward to discussing with you our strategy, once it is presented, and how we can achieve practical results and make it work for the benefit of the European consumers.
Finally, I would like to thank the rapporteur once again for the excellent work she has done."@en1
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