More than 200,000 citizens say no to toxic mineral oil in food: foodwatch hands over petition to EU Commission
- Mineral oil in foods
The international consumer organisation foodwatch handed over more than 200,000 petition signatures to the European Commission in Brussels. Campaigners from all of the foodwatch offices around Europe came together in Brussels to call for strict limits on toxic mineral oil contaminants in food. The signatures from citizens across Europe were presented to representatives of DG Health and Food Safety, alongside a symbolic protest action in front of the Commission headquarters. foodwatch will continue to collect signatures in order to keep up the pressure on EU lawmakers.
“The science is clear: genotoxic and carcinogenic mineral oils have no place in our food. The EU has promised action for years. We need a strong regulation that protects consumers,” said Suzy Sumner, Head of foodwatch’s Brussels Office.
Klaus Berend, Deputy Director General at Health & Food Safety, said: “On the mineral oils regulation, if we are where we are, it is the result of the foodwatch campaign. We need to acknowledge that.”
The DG Santé team that foodwatch met confirmed that the Commission is committed to reach an agreement on the draft regulation with Member states, hopefully by the end of 2025, with as strict maximum limits as possible.
A leaked version of the EU proposal from June, which is currently being discussed by Member States, sets contamination limits too high for a number of foodstuffs and allows long transition periods, foodwatch criticised. The approach proposed in order to control mineral oil contamination in final products that consumers find on the store shelves is very complex and places a high burden onto national enforcement authorities. foodwatch is concerned that this could lead to protection loopholes at the expense of consumer safety.
The consumer rights watchdog urges the European Commission to simply transform into legislation the already agreed maximum levels of contamination based on the fat content of the food, levels agreed by Member States experts in 2022. This would ensure clear and enforceable limits without exemptions for certain food categories and without unreasonable transition times.
To emphasise the demand for stronger action, foodwatch representatives ended the meeting by presenting ‘Don’t get your hands dirty’-soaps – a reminder that EU policymakers must not cave in to industry pressure, but instead finalise ambitious legislation that truly protects public health.
foodwatch will continue to campaign and keep decision makers accountable for their actions. “We ask the commission to keep their promise to defend a strong regulation and Member states to support strict limits and commit to their efficient enforcement”, said foodwatch’s Suzy Sumner.
Citizens can still join the foodwatch petition at: https://www.foodwatch.org/en/no-toxic-mineral-oil-in-our-food