While they have never gotten so much information about the products they buy, consumers are becoming more and more perplexed, even suspicious, with regard to this effort of transparency. The Senate Economic Affairs Committee makes several recommendations.
A report from the Senate Economic Affairs Committee, published on June 29, highlighted the problem of readability and reliability of information, notably optional (labels, valuable mentions, allegations, etc.) appearing on the products. “Public resources dedicated to control are in free fall”, estimates the Senate report, although the information to be controlled is more and more numerous (environmental display, sustainability index, optional information dematerialized in QR codes, etc.).
“In this context, simplified displays are particularly relevant, like the Nutri-Score », judge the authors of the report who call for anticipating its generalization at the European level in 2023. Likewise, rating applications : the authors insist on the need to make their operation more transparent. Ultimately, the senatorial report recommends around ten good practices to supervise these applications and encourage their development. The report also suggests that public authorities certify them, in order to attest to the relevance of the evaluation criteria with regard to science, and the reliability of the databases used.
For reliable and harmonized information
The report also recommends stronger supervision of certain misleading commercial claims and practices., as well as strengthening the resources of the DGCCRF and consumer associations. He nevertheless recalls that consumer protection policy requires above all education.. For Sophie Primas, chair of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee, “too little work asks the question of how the information transmitted by manufacturers is actually processed by consumers. But misunderstood information, or not taken seriously, can be counterproductive, if it discredits other information. ». “A striking example illustrates the illegibility of the information provided to consumers : the origin of the products. The rules differ so much from one product to another that consumers are confused., and develop a form of suspicion. We propose several avenues to harmonize and extend, once and for all, displaying the origin of all food products », underlines Françoise Férat for her part, rapporteur.
Report and recommendations can be consulted on the Senate website : www.senat.fr
A label specialist in Reunion
Bruno Du Boisguéheneuc, founder of the agricultural development consulting company Essentiels Réunion, is one of the rare specialists on the subject. He comments on the recommendations of the senatorial report.
“There are good ideas such as the standardization of a certain number of labels for similar products, information at school, or public certification of the various “scores”. I strongly believe in the necessity of the recommendation on made in France : this allegation linked today to the “last substantial operation” must, to be credible, evolve towards much more assertive specifications. It’s the same thing for the notion of “local product” which remains vague.. The need to change the labels likely to be approved under the Egalim law has not been addressed. It’s a shame because it’s a real obstacle for local producers., particularly in Reunion. What emerges from these proposals is a desire and a need to inform consumers who have difficulty finding their way around. This desire to inform and train constitutes the very heart of our project. Via les ateliers logos, we offer the consumer, in a fun and friendly form, to become an informed consumer and know where to find the information they need to consume better. We can also support producers, artisans, transformers, and restaurateurs, by presenting them with an exhaustive overview of existing approaches. We also offer training for distribution professionals, another recommendation from the report, so that they can better inform customers, but also be more relevant to suppliers by mastering the subject of labels. »
