Brussels, May 16 - In an effort to curb obesity, the European Parliament Tuesday passed the first European Union-wide regulation on how food companies make claims for "low fat" or "high vitamin" products.
The regulation was passed by a show of hands.
This the first time that the E.U. has set common rules on labeling of vitamins, minerals and food additives.
Under the rules, for example, food companies will be required to provide the amount of sugar in "low fat" yoghurts or other diet foods.
"The public is fed up of buying so-called 'low fat' yoghurts for their children thinking they are making a healthy option only to find them high in sugar," said Jenny Marra, a spokeswoman for the Labour group in the European Parliament.
"Under these new regulations, vague, misleading and often false health claims on foods such as 'low fat, nutritious, and rich in vitamins' will have to be backed up by ingredients or eliminated from packaging and marketing altogether," she said.
The bill is still to be approved by E.U. governments. This approval is expected in coming weeks, the European Commission said Tuesday. The regulation will then come into force.
E.U. and U.S. regulators met last week to discuss healthy diets and agreed that consumers need more information about the food they buy.
The U.S. first imposed strict food labeling laws that allowed business to claim their product was "low fat" or "high in fiber" in 1990, U.S. officials said.
The E.U. legislation is similar, setting criteria for the establishment of maximum and minimum levels of vitamins and minerals in food.
Obesity is a huge problem on both sides of the Atlantic. The U.S.'s Deputy Secretary of Health Alex Azar said 130 million U.S. citizens are overweight and 60 million are obese.
In the E.U., with a larger population, 204 million are overweight and 61.4 million obese.
E.U. Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said obesity accounts for up to 7% of direct health care costs in the E.U.
The danger of obesity, Azar and Kyprianou agreed, was particularly serious for children.
"The addition of vitamins, minerals and other fortifying substances to food can offer many benefits to the consumer but there is also the risk of over-consumption of certain nutrients," Kyprianou said Tuesday after the parliamentary vote. "The fortification of food must be done in a way that is safe and transparent."
The regulation contains a list of vitamins and minerals that can be added to food. Under the so-called Nutrition and Health Claims proposal, an existing E.U. body will be given new powers to approve such criteria.
The U.S. has gone much further than the E.U. in allowing food makers to make health claims. Starting three years ago, the U.S. allowed the Food and Drug Administration to accept manufacturers' food claims on the basis of emerging evidence. This means, Azar said, salmon producers can tout their fish as high in healthy fats that help reduce the risk of heart attacks. Similar statements remain illegal in the E.U.