Title: Gold standards in harmonisation of global nutrition legislation
Abstract:
Harmonization is the key of deep & durable progress in the benefit of consumers, food industry, market traders and all involved stakeholders.
Harmonization is the ideal solution & practical tool of improving food nutrition & technologies quality, fair international trade, to avoid inequities due to inconsistency of international law and incompliance with national/regional/federal regulations, policies, standards or internal guidelines, procedures, codes of practices etc.
Harmonization require strong willing, both politically and scientifically, as well as deep knowledge about legislation similarities and differences, with the willing to make effort of produce consensus supported by sound science-based evidences, after long argument debates, negotiations, re-formulation, amendments to current legislation in order to be agreed at the global level in a perfect operational manner.
The science-based analysis of global legislation coherence need to change from the current descriptive policy gaps or stunting issues toward the objective scientific assessment of harmonization level using harmonization assessing indicators.
The estimation of similitudines factor (k-ratio of similitude) and gap index (g-absolute unconcistency value), as objective harmonization indicators, to measure the similarities/differences between current Energy&Nutrient DRV and RDI in different international jurisdictions(Vintila, 2019).
Nutritional Labelling need to became much more a useful tool for the final targeted consumer and less a competitive marketing display of different logo’s.
The mandatory food information from Chapter II and Chapter IV of The EU Regulation 1169/2011:
Food identity: name, country of origin, business producer name and address, a fair pictorial food image, the net quantity, the number of portions/package;
Food composition: List of ingredients, primary ingredient;
Food nutrients nature (vegetal, animal, substitute/imitation/formed/cultured: chemical, GMO/non GMO, lab-cultured from stem cells);
Mandatory nutrition declarations (harmonized nutrient profiling): Energy value, amount of fat, saturated, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and salt per portion and 100g, compared with Dietary Reference Values (DRV);
Safe condition of food use: additives, allergens or intolerance-inducing ingredients, date of minimum durability, use instructions.
The additional form of expression and presentation, such as one food nutritional rating system, should respect the seven criteria established in Article 35 from Chapter IV EU Regulation No 1169/2011.
FOP “Warning” nutritional label need to discourage the excessive consummation and the negative impact on the public health, without introducing non-fair commercial practice. Science-based criteria for nutritional food profiling need to be mandatory used in the food production and future ranking system because the consumer perception is highly influenced in purchasing and consuming the logo-recommended foods.
In my opinion, the graphical FOP Nutritional labelling could be a new and better logo for hybrid nutritional and health claim only if it based on Bio-DRV nutrient profiling and assessing algorithm.
