Bulletin (PDF 18.3 MB) - City of Armadale

Information BulletinCorrespondence & PapersPage Cor-44Quote of the week"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable fortheir apparent disinclination to do so." - Douglas AdamsInternational newsThe head of Europe's leading consumer watchdog has said mandatory EU labellinginformation has become so complex and detailed even she cannot understand it. Speaking atthe CIAA Congress in Brussels recently, Monique Goyens, director-general of the EuropeanConsumers Organisation (BEUC), said: "Being able to read what's on a packet is becomingmore difficult as more and more information is included and the letters get smaller."Goyens admitted she did not understand mandatory pictographs on packages and she wassupposed to be an expert. "In other words, the information has got to be processable by theconsumer. The information has got to be useful, understandable and legible," she said.EU health Commissioner John Dalli, who was also speaking at the event, accepted there wasa problem regarding information overload. "There is a dilemma: whether to give justsimplified information on a package or long and more precise data not understandable tothe public."Dalli claimed the European Commission continued to be pressed by the European Parliamentfor new packaging information. "We have to be careful," he said.The CIAA Congress also heard from Unilever CEO Paul Polman, who noted thatmanufacturers could play a key role in ensuring ingredients were healthy, regardless oflabelling issues.Polman focused on Unilever's ambitious 'Sustainable Living Plan', unveiled earlier this week,which he said would improve the nutrition levels in the company's products throughout thenew decade.Polman said the company had embarked on a "nutrition mission" for the two billionconsumers eating a Unilever product every day, with excess salt, sugar and fat contentunder consideration. (Source Just-Food).