The European Parliament approved a report that asks for better defined rules on the labelling and contents of baby milks and food for people with special medical needs. In addition, MEPs are concerned that slimming claims are made on growing numbers of food product labels.

The European Parliament approved in plenary session a report on the new legislation to replace several existing laws in order to streamline and clarify labelling and composition rules. In particular, MEPs stressed that rules on the labelling and contents of baby milks and food for people with special medical needs would be better defined to protect consumers and give clarity to the food industry. The Public Health and Food Safety Committee already voted new rules in March 2012 in order to streamline and clarify labelling and composition rules.

MEPs also highlighted that food products intended for people with gluten intolerance should contain less than 100 mg gluten per kg and may be labelled as having very low gluten content whilst those containing less than 20 mg of gluten per kg may be labelled gluten free. On the other hand, the labelling of all milk formulae for babies up to 12 months old (including "follow-on" formulae) should not include pictures of babies or images that "idealise the use" of the product, says the text.

Moreover, MEPs are concerned that slimming claims are made on growing numbers of food product labels. Parliament says that the new rules should cover energy-restricted diets designed to replace a person's daily food intake or strict diets for obese people. These include "low-calorie diets" (800-1,200 calories per day) and "very low-calorie diets" (400-800 calories).