An audit report has found that European consumers face confusing and misleading food labeling, including issues related to allergen information and expiration dates.

The European Court of Auditors said labeling should help people make informed decisions when buying food. However, consumers are exposed to a growing number of claims, logos, slogans, labels, and scores.

“Instead of bringing clarity, food labels too often create confusion; there are hundreds of different schemes, logos, and claims that people need to decipher,” said Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, the European Court of Auditors member responsible for the audit. 

The audit covered labels between 2011 and 2023. Auditors met with the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety and the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and interviewed authorities in Belgium, Italy, and Lithuania. 

Allergen and shelf-life data challenges
Regulations require allergens to be emphasized in the ingredient list. However, people with food allergies may be faced with overly cautious labeling and vague statements such as “may contain.” A lack of harmonized rules at the EU level restricts their choice. Companies may apply the “may contain” wording to play it safe, and the use of this statement is not always based on risk assessments quantifying the presence of allergens. Implementing acts on precautionary allergen labeling have not yet been adopted by the EU Commission.

Confusion is made worse by the increasing number of voluntary labels, logos and claims used to attract consumers. These include “clean” labels about the absence of certain elements such as (e.g., “antibiotic-free” and uncertified qualities such as “fresh” and “natural.”

The EU allocated only about €5.5 million ($5.77 million) to food labeling awareness campaigns from 2021 to 2025, and consumer campaigns by member states are sporadic. For instance, although mandatory, date marking is poorly understood, with people confused by the meaning of “use by” and “best before.”

Companies can also take advantage of weaknesses in checks and penalties. For example, websites outside the EU are almost impossible to control for online food sales. Regarding infringements, the EU auditors concluded that fines are not always dissuasive, effective, or proportionate.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, all three member states visited have observed a rise in the sale of food products via e-commerce and an increased number of complaints about online stores. Information on such products can be misleading, and their consumption may even be unsafe.

Sharing information with the public
Auditors found that control systems in member states are sometimes complex and often involve multiple authorities, which may lead to weaknesses in monitoring, reporting, and sanctions.

The EU Commission makes some information notified by member states available to the public via the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal but not details that would allow a product to be identified, such as its name or involved companies. For example, a consumer could not find the product name on the portal during a recall. Instead, this information might be available in shops or through national authorities’ information channels.

“This makes it hard for consumers to use the portal to find out about issues relating to food safety and change their purchasing habits accordingly,” said auditors.

Auditors recommended that when updating RASFF, the EU Commission should improve data quality and increase information sharing on food labeling issues with the public.

“What’s worst about the ECA report: Rather than a lack of competence, it underlines the lack of political will in the EU’s institutions to defend the rights of 450 million EU consumers instead of the interests of a powerful industry. Food labels may often be small in size. Still, they are of huge importance: They shape the eating habits of millions of people and therefore have a massive impact on the health of European consumers,” said Suzy Sumner, head of the Brussels office for Foodwatch International.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)