Press Release 16.09.2025

Nutri-score papers: foodwatch joins Access Info in case before the General Court of the European Union

  • Traffic light labels

After a two-year battle for transparency by foodwatch, the NGO joins Access Info to challenge the European Commission’s refusal to disclose key documents related to proposed EU legislation on mandatory front-of-pack nutritional labelling. The Nutri-Score topic has disappeared from European political agendas without explanation. foodwatch and Access Info are taking action. Access Info has just filed an action for annulment of the Commission’s decision to refuse access to the requested documents with the General Court of the European Union and foodwatch, which broke the story, is intervening to support the case.

In 2020, in the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Commission announced a revision of the European Union rules on the information provided to consumers. The aim was to propose an EU-wide harmonised and mandatory front-of-pack nutritional label (for example the Nutri-Score) by the end of 2022, which would allow consumers to easily make healthier food choices. This is a necessary measure to tackle the growing European health crisis of non-communicable diseases. The Nutri-score is supported by numerous independent scientists across Europe and the WHO.

However, this legislative proposal (amending the “Food Information for Consumers” regulation) disappeared off the Commission’s agenda, without any public explanation. Since March 2023, foodwatch has submitted various access to document requests to the European Commission seeking clarity on the reasons for the withdrawal of the proposal. foodwatch requested access to the Impact Assessment, the Opinion of Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB), and the minutes of related meetings concerning this legislative process. These documents are central to understanding the development, and abrupt abandonment, of the Nutri-Score proposal. The Commission, however, refused to release these documents in full. foodwatch submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman, who agreed with foodwatch and criticised the non-disclosure of the EU Commission as “maladministration” – yet today the Commission still refuses to release the documents.

“Why has the EU Commission silently buried its plan to present a Europe-wide nutrition label as planned in the Farm to Fork strategy? What influence does the food lobby have? We want to have these questions answered. Half a billion European consumers have the right to know at a glance what is in their food,” said Suzy Sumner, Head of the Brussels Office for foodwatch international.

Legal action at the General Court of the European Union

Faced with these refusals, foodwatch turned to the Access Info, an organisation specialised in the right of access to information. In March 2025, Access Info sent a separate access to documents request to reinforce the demand that foodwatch had made for the Impact Assessment, the Opinion of Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB), and the minutes of related meetings concerning this legislative process. Despite the clear legislative nature of these documents, the Commission denied access, arguing that their release would undermine the decision-making process.

“The requested documents are legislative in nature. According to case-law of the General Court of the European Union, such documents are subject to the highest level of transparency and the principle of the widest possible access. This standard, however, has not been applied to the Nutri-score documents”, said Carlos Cordero, President of Access Info.

Access Info argues that the Commission’s refusal to release these legislative documents violates the fundamental right of access to EU documents, Regulation 1049/2001 and principles established by CJEU case-law. Access Info has filed a request for an annulment of this decision to refuse access with the General Court of the European Union.

Why Nutri-Score is important

foodwatch has been campaigning for years for a mandatory nutrition labelling across the EU. Among other existing models, Nutri-Score stands out as the most effective. It offers consumers clear, colour-coded information on the overall nutritional quality of food products, using a simple “traffic light” system, allowing them to quickly identify healthier options at a glance.

To date, eight EU countries - France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, and most recently Romania - as well as Switzerland, support the voluntary use of Nutri-Score. However, without an EU-wide mandatory system, implementation remains inconsistent and fragmented.

“We are facing a severe health crisis in Europe. There is scientific evidence that Nutri-Score can help in the battle against non-communicable diseases, even cancer. The easy-to-understand Nutri-Score can help people make healthier purchases and incentivise manufacturers to change their recipes. We have no more time to lose,” said foodwatch’s Suzy Sumner.

foodwatch is a European non-profit consumer organisation that has been fighting for safe, healthy and affordable food for all people since 2002. foodwatch operates at the national and European levels and has offices in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Brussels. More about foodwatch: www.foodwatch.org/en/about-foodwatch/

Access Info Europe is a human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and protecting the right of access to information. Established in Madrid in 2006, Access Info runs a range of projects and activities at the national and the EU level designed to leverage the right to information to increase participation and accountability, to defend human rights, and to advance democracy.

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