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Food company Mars has decided to pull out of the Evolved Nutrition Label”, a health label it helped create itself and which was an industry initiative.
Mars wants European solution
The colour-focused health label indicated whether a particular ingredient’s amount is healthy or not. However, it already received a lot of backlash, because it can confuse consumers considering how it focuses on portions. This way, Nutella does not get a red label, even though it does contain a lot of sugar and fat.
Mars has now decided the label does not have enough backing and will no longer place it on its packaging, despite having been one of the six companies involved in its creation. The other five companies (Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Unilever and Mondelez) will continue to back the label, but Mars has now called upon the European Commission to come up with its own legislation, equating the playing field for everyone. “We need a pan-European solution, for all EU consumers to benefit from it and to reduce complexity and cost to businesses”, a Mars spokesperson told FoodNavigator.
ENL’s other founders say they respect Mars’ decision, but do call on other companies to join their cause. They are also in favour of EU intervention, to help simplify the entire procedure.
