[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":97},["ShallowReactive",2],{"pages-686bcbeaebae028a11644491":3},{"_id":4,"state":5,"name":6,"category":7,"theme":8,"components":9,"keywords":89},"686bcbeaebae028a11644491","active","Mandatory food labelling on aggregated sustainability performance indicators","discover","european_food_system_dashboard",[10,22,29,38,45,51,58,65,71],{"type":11,"index":12,"variation":13,"imageURL":14,"title":15,"description":17,"button":19},"header",0,"image_left","https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/8acbb2a1-7483-43c5-a3c4-5f587e5f3010",{"en_GB":16},"Sustainability criteria in food labels",{"en_GB":18},"- Food system activity: Final consumption\n- Governance level: European\n- Cluster: Education and awareness\n- Origin: Pan-EU \n- Type of policy intervention: Information-based",{"label":20,"URL":21},{"en_GB":21},"",{"type":23,"index":24,"variation":25,"imageURL":21,"title":26,"description":27},"title_and_text",1,"title_image_description",{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":28},"*Note that this intervention is related to the intervention of developing [more stringent food labels detailing employed production methods](https://planeatcenter.com/discover/european_food_system_dashboard/686bc5db75cdc57605fb0c47), meaning the description, current implementation and challenges will have overlap.*",{"type":30,"index":31,"variation":32,"imageURL":33,"title":34,"description":36},"image_and_text",2,"image_right","https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/1c0aace6-2325-4a53-96d6-5d50235b85c7",{"en_GB":35},"Intervention Details",{"en_GB":37},"This intervention, put forward during the pan-European summit, proposes broadly to include more sustainability criteria into food labels. Whereas the other intervention only focused on production methods, this intervention goes beyond production and looks at sustainability across food system activities, so including for instance packaging and processing. It proposes to move beyond existing EU rules, which require labeling of basic nutritional content and, for some products, origin and organic certification, to extend to aspects like pesticide use during production, water use along the food supply chain, but also economic and social sustainability aspects like fair income for farmers and a safe work environment. This can be related to revealing the ‘true costs’ of economic activities, leading to the call for ‘true cost accounting’ that takes environmental, economic and social costs of food production into account and in this case, can be presented through a food label (Klaus, Riemer & Müller, 2024).",{"type":30,"index":39,"variation":13,"imageURL":40,"title":41,"description":43},3,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/c32b40e5-d2c2-44bb-a1ed-0e0d2ba39795",{"en_GB":42},"Examples of implementation",{"en_GB":44},"Studies suggest that sustainability labeling, when credible and clearly presented, can indeed significantly influence purchasing behavior, especially when coupled with public awareness campaigns or front-of-pack labeling systems (Potter et al., 2021). While there is no overarching standard in place for labelling of production methods on food products, there is the EU organic label, a mandatory symbol for pre packaged food products produced and sold as organic within the European Union. Moreover, there are many initiatives in several EU member states that cover some sustainability criteria. For instance, at least seven member states have labelling schemes around farm animal welfare (Di Concetto, 2024). A variety of actors is involved in the development and implementation of labelling schemes. ",{"type":23,"index":46,"variation":47,"imageURL":21,"title":48,"description":49},4,"title_description",{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":50},"An example of a current voluntary environmental label taking a large range of sustainability criteria (though not social and health-related cators) into account is the [Planet-score](https://www.planet-score.org/en/), which is a front-of-pack environmental label based on the French state’s ADEME’s Agribalyse data that is ready to use by retailers. It combines criteria like biodiversity, pesticide use, climate impact and breeding methods that are each rated between A-E. Finally, while not in place yet, the European Commission’s 2020 Farm to Fork Action Plan proposed harmonized front-of-pack labeling that could incorporate sustainability criteria.",{"type":30,"index":52,"variation":32,"imageURL":53,"title":54,"description":56},5,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/afec88ea-040b-4549-a51c-f75cc9a63be5",{"en_GB":55},"Key implementation challenges",{"en_GB":57},"There are some implementation challenges around this intervention, concerning feasibility and effectiveness. Firstly, as the impact of production methods on the environment has many aspects, it can be challenging to integrate these all into a single, understandable and consumer-friendly label. Label developers face hurdles in defining the scope (which environmental attributes to include), selecting appropriate functional units, and synthesizing multi criteria life cycle assessment (LCA) data into an accessible format (Cicek, Boone & Broekema, 2024). Cicek et al. (2024) note that the private sector can play a central role in the development of operational tools required for a harmonized LCA-based eco-label. This also requires a strong governance structure with stakeholders from both public and private sectors. Secondly, labelling by itself is an information-based intervention and these are often found to be insufficient in isolation (Ran et al., 2025). To really be effective, these types of interventions therefore need to be implemented in combination with other behavioral interventions. ",{"type":30,"index":59,"variation":13,"imageURL":60,"title":61,"description":63},6,"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/b466ae36-722e-4837-9540-cd11b3d71ab9",{"en_GB":62},"Expert Evaluation",{"en_GB":64},"Experts rated the effectiveness of this policy intervention at an average of 3.26/5.00 (SD = 1.07), indicating a moderately positive assessment (ranked 14th out of 20). Survey respondents emphasized that, when provided with information, consumers would select the more sustainable products, as well as the intervention’s potential for changing farmers’ attitudes towards sustainability. However, other experts were less optimistic, pointing out that consumers may lack the necessary food literacy, that there are knowledge gaps regarding how to communicate to consumers effectively, and that other factors also influence purchasing behavior. The average feasibility score was 3.18/5.00 (SD = 1.10), reflecting a moderate assessment and ranking 16th overall. Experts expressed more critical views regarding feasibility, highlighting a lack of scientific consensus on sustainability criteria, political challenges in the current context, and disproportionate impacts on small and medium enterprises. They also questioned whether the intervention would significantly influence behavior. Survey respondents identified synergies with the policy intervention “consumer awareness campaigns”. ",{"type":23,"index":66,"variation":25,"imageURL":21,"title":67,"description":69},7,{"en_GB":68},"List of References",{"en_GB":70},"•\tCicek, Seval, Koen Boone, Roline Broekema, 2024. State of the art analysis of LCA-based ecolabelling schemes in Europe. Wageningen, Wageningen Economic Research, Report 2024-125, [https://edepot.wur.nl/680057](https://edepot.wur.nl/680057)\n\n•\tDi Concetto, A. (2024) Farm animal welfare and food information for European Union consumers: Harmonising the regulatory framework for more policy coherence. *European Journal of Risk Regulation* 15(1):122-136. doi:10.1017/err.2022.46 \n\n•\tKlaus, L. M., Riemer, O. & Müller, A. (2024). Changing the equation: Leveraging true cost accounting to  accelerate agri-food systems transformation. Report 5 of FORESEE (4C) – The transformation of agri-food systems in times of multiple crises (4 Cs: Climate, Covid-19, Conflict, Cost of externalities). Berlin: TMG Think Tank for Sustainability. [https://doi.org/10.35435/1.2024.2](https://doi.org/10.35435/1.2024.2) \n\n•\tPotter, C., Bastounis, A., Hartmann-Boyce, J., Stewart, C., Frie, K., Tudor, K., ... & Jebb, S. A. (2021). The effects of environmental sustainability labels on selection, purchase, and consumption of food and drink products: a systematic review. *Environment and behavior*, 53(8), 891-925\n\n•\tRan, Y., Persson, U. M., Lindahl, T., Jonell, M., Brons, A., Macura, B., ... & Röös, E. (2025). Are interventions for environmentally sustainable dietary behaviours effective? A review. *Environmental Research: Food Systems*, 2(3), 032001.",{"type":72,"index":73,"variation":74,"title":75,"contact1":77,"contact2":83,"contact3":86},"contacts",8,"title_top",{"en_GB":76},"CONTACT",{"imageURL":78,"name":79,"description":81},"https://planeateu.retool.com/api/file/771281e8-fca5-4ec7-a45c-0addca312f67",{"en_GB":80},"Jeroen Candel",{"en_GB":82},"Associate professor of food and agricultural policy​",{"imageURL":21,"name":84,"description":85},{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":21},{"imageURL":21,"name":87,"description":88},{"en_GB":21},{"en_GB":21},[90,91,92,93,94,95,96],"processing","packaging","european","education and awareness","pan-EU","information-based","policy intervention",1776437178001]