NUTRITION & HEALTH : EU label legislation postponed

As the expectations around the Commission’s proposal about a EU-wide nutritional labelling systems are getting higher, many events are being organized around this topic. However, the Commission seems that it will postpone this legislative initiative at a later stage of 2023 considering the ‘complexity’ of the issue and the fact that more time is needed for the EU executive to take a final position on the matter. At the same time, Italian researchers have proposed another label to be displayed on food products, the ‘Med Index’, that would promote those products that are in line with the Mediterranean diet and with its principles of sustainability (i.e., nutritional, environmental, and social).

In the meantime, traditional and nature-sourced food products are being challenged by the development of lab-grown protein industry, with start-up in the field raising capitals to open new production facilities to scale up, expand their offer, and the geographical location. In this context, a study analyzed consumers’ openness to lab-grown dairy (through precision fermentation) and found that the overall safety concerns as well as questions about the technical process of production were frequently underlined. However, only few individuals within the early adoption group expressed opposition to the products while the majority of the people interviewed were ‘on the fence’ as to whether they would consider trying the product.

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