Emma Calvert
@emmacalvert.bsky.social
Back in Belfast after 15 wonderful years working and living in Brussels.
Formerly food @ European Consumer Organisation (@beuc.bsky.social) trying to make healthier choices easier for all!
Still dipping a toe into EU Food Policy.
Formerly food @ European Consumer Organisation (@beuc.bsky.social) trying to make healthier choices easier for all!
Still dipping a toe into EU Food Policy.
Why can sugary cereals or even candies proudly boast about vitamin D or ‘no fat’?
Well because the EU hasn’t done its job…for *17* years. Nutritional standards - ‘nutrient profiles’ - would’ve stopped these kinds of misleading claims on labels but the EU has missed the deadline since.. 19/01/2009🎂
Well because the EU hasn’t done its job…for *17* years. Nutritional standards - ‘nutrient profiles’ - would’ve stopped these kinds of misleading claims on labels but the EU has missed the deadline since.. 19/01/2009🎂
January 19, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Why can sugary cereals or even candies proudly boast about vitamin D or ‘no fat’?
Well because the EU hasn’t done its job…for *17* years. Nutritional standards - ‘nutrient profiles’ - would’ve stopped these kinds of misleading claims on labels but the EU has missed the deadline since.. 19/01/2009🎂
Well because the EU hasn’t done its job…for *17* years. Nutritional standards - ‘nutrient profiles’ - would’ve stopped these kinds of misleading claims on labels but the EU has missed the deadline since.. 19/01/2009🎂
🍬‘One portion = Happiness!’
Great that Haribo have made giant stuffed toy versions of their sweets…🙄 Now they can market to kids *inside* their bedrooms.
This is of course a company who claim they don’t market to under 16s
Great that Haribo have made giant stuffed toy versions of their sweets…🙄 Now they can market to kids *inside* their bedrooms.
This is of course a company who claim they don’t market to under 16s
December 24, 2025 at 6:49 AM
🍬‘One portion = Happiness!’
Great that Haribo have made giant stuffed toy versions of their sweets…🙄 Now they can market to kids *inside* their bedrooms.
This is of course a company who claim they don’t market to under 16s
Great that Haribo have made giant stuffed toy versions of their sweets…🙄 Now they can market to kids *inside* their bedrooms.
This is of course a company who claim they don’t market to under 16s
Maybe some Irish and EU policymakers could pick up a copy of this kid’s book I found today..
Which seems to have a better grasp of what needs to happen to livestock agriculture in Ireland…
Which seems to have a better grasp of what needs to happen to livestock agriculture in Ireland…
December 23, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Maybe some Irish and EU policymakers could pick up a copy of this kid’s book I found today..
Which seems to have a better grasp of what needs to happen to livestock agriculture in Ireland…
Which seems to have a better grasp of what needs to happen to livestock agriculture in Ireland…
But not at all convinced by the Commission’s plans to work on food information…
🤨Portion sizes (unrealistic, set by industry),
🤨Digital info (useless for busy consumers),
🤨Focus on processing only (nutrition is crucial too!)
🚥Of course no mention of the most effective label out there- #NutriScore
🤨Portion sizes (unrealistic, set by industry),
🤨Digital info (useless for busy consumers),
🤨Focus on processing only (nutrition is crucial too!)
🚥Of course no mention of the most effective label out there- #NutriScore
December 16, 2025 at 4:24 PM
But not at all convinced by the Commission’s plans to work on food information…
🤨Portion sizes (unrealistic, set by industry),
🤨Digital info (useless for busy consumers),
🤨Focus on processing only (nutrition is crucial too!)
🚥Of course no mention of the most effective label out there- #NutriScore
🤨Portion sizes (unrealistic, set by industry),
🤨Digital info (useless for busy consumers),
🤨Focus on processing only (nutrition is crucial too!)
🚥Of course no mention of the most effective label out there- #NutriScore
♥️ Good to see diets haven’t been totally ignored in the new EU ‘Safe Hearts Plan’ but still so much untapped potential to address #foodenvironments
Hoping in particular the evaluation of unhealthy food marketing to kids will indeed lead to a proposal for stricter rules (how could it not?!)
Hoping in particular the evaluation of unhealthy food marketing to kids will indeed lead to a proposal for stricter rules (how could it not?!)
December 16, 2025 at 4:24 PM
♥️ Good to see diets haven’t been totally ignored in the new EU ‘Safe Hearts Plan’ but still so much untapped potential to address #foodenvironments
Hoping in particular the evaluation of unhealthy food marketing to kids will indeed lead to a proposal for stricter rules (how could it not?!)
Hoping in particular the evaluation of unhealthy food marketing to kids will indeed lead to a proposal for stricter rules (how could it not?!)
🎯
Very sick of passing this bus stop ad with my little ones this month (obviously they think it’s great - ‘Santa!!’)
If junk food ads on tv are worth regulating then junk food ads outdoors are too
Very sick of passing this bus stop ad with my little ones this month (obviously they think it’s great - ‘Santa!!’)
If junk food ads on tv are worth regulating then junk food ads outdoors are too
December 10, 2025 at 11:14 AM
🎯
Very sick of passing this bus stop ad with my little ones this month (obviously they think it’s great - ‘Santa!!’)
If junk food ads on tv are worth regulating then junk food ads outdoors are too
Very sick of passing this bus stop ad with my little ones this month (obviously they think it’s great - ‘Santa!!’)
If junk food ads on tv are worth regulating then junk food ads outdoors are too
New 🇮🇹 food faux outrage just dropped 🥱
Lollobrigida upset a jar of carbonara has the wrong type of processed meat (yes really).
Always reminds me of the excellent @financialtimes.com
on the invention of Italian food traditions.
As American as it is Italian it seems..pork jowl not until the 90s..
Lollobrigida upset a jar of carbonara has the wrong type of processed meat (yes really).
Always reminds me of the excellent @financialtimes.com
on the invention of Italian food traditions.
As American as it is Italian it seems..pork jowl not until the 90s..
November 21, 2025 at 1:41 PM
New 🇮🇹 food faux outrage just dropped 🥱
Lollobrigida upset a jar of carbonara has the wrong type of processed meat (yes really).
Always reminds me of the excellent @financialtimes.com
on the invention of Italian food traditions.
As American as it is Italian it seems..pork jowl not until the 90s..
Lollobrigida upset a jar of carbonara has the wrong type of processed meat (yes really).
Always reminds me of the excellent @financialtimes.com
on the invention of Italian food traditions.
As American as it is Italian it seems..pork jowl not until the 90s..
More great news on the state of children’s health
November 13, 2025 at 10:11 AM
More great news on the state of children’s health
Very sorry to read that Eurocare will be closing its Brussels office.
The EU alcohol industry is a lobbying juggernaut which has maintained its unjustified special treatment for decades.
With no dedicated EU public health org working on alcohol, fixing this imbalance is now even more difficult :(
The EU alcohol industry is a lobbying juggernaut which has maintained its unjustified special treatment for decades.
With no dedicated EU public health org working on alcohol, fixing this imbalance is now even more difficult :(
November 5, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Very sorry to read that Eurocare will be closing its Brussels office.
The EU alcohol industry is a lobbying juggernaut which has maintained its unjustified special treatment for decades.
With no dedicated EU public health org working on alcohol, fixing this imbalance is now even more difficult :(
The EU alcohol industry is a lobbying juggernaut which has maintained its unjustified special treatment for decades.
With no dedicated EU public health org working on alcohol, fixing this imbalance is now even more difficult :(
Not only is the NutrInform battery (made in 🇮🇹 as an ‘alternative’ to the #Nutriscore) nowhere to be seen in Italian supermarkets (apart from a few Ferrero products 🤨), but as the programme shows, very complex and not easy to understand!
A total red herring 😒
A total red herring 😒
October 22, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Not only is the NutrInform battery (made in 🇮🇹 as an ‘alternative’ to the #Nutriscore) nowhere to be seen in Italian supermarkets (apart from a few Ferrero products 🤨), but as the programme shows, very complex and not easy to understand!
A total red herring 😒
A total red herring 😒
Watching the last itw I did before leaving 🇧🇪 (and @beuc.eu 😢) on the sabotage of the #NutriScore
Great exposure of the unprecedented level of lobbying against a public health tool in 🇮🇹. From Ferrero to Meloni, Coldiretti to Federalimentare: shocking the effort made to stop it becoming the EU label
Great exposure of the unprecedented level of lobbying against a public health tool in 🇮🇹. From Ferrero to Meloni, Coldiretti to Federalimentare: shocking the effort made to stop it becoming the EU label
October 22, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Watching the last itw I did before leaving 🇧🇪 (and @beuc.eu 😢) on the sabotage of the #NutriScore
Great exposure of the unprecedented level of lobbying against a public health tool in 🇮🇹. From Ferrero to Meloni, Coldiretti to Federalimentare: shocking the effort made to stop it becoming the EU label
Great exposure of the unprecedented level of lobbying against a public health tool in 🇮🇹. From Ferrero to Meloni, Coldiretti to Federalimentare: shocking the effort made to stop it becoming the EU label
Think I need a shower after reading this exposé into the dirty tricks of the meat industry (and their paid shills) who worked relentlessly to undermine the EAT Lancet planetary diet...
Having had the misfortune to engage with one of the mis-influencers mentioned, this paragraph👇 rings very true:
Having had the misfortune to engage with one of the mis-influencers mentioned, this paragraph👇 rings very true:
October 7, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Think I need a shower after reading this exposé into the dirty tricks of the meat industry (and their paid shills) who worked relentlessly to undermine the EAT Lancet planetary diet...
Having had the misfortune to engage with one of the mis-influencers mentioned, this paragraph👇 rings very true:
Having had the misfortune to engage with one of the mis-influencers mentioned, this paragraph👇 rings very true:
New ridiculous health claim on food just dropped…
Anti-aging granola 🙃
Anti-aging granola 🙃
July 4, 2025 at 8:43 AM
New ridiculous health claim on food just dropped…
Anti-aging granola 🙃
Anti-aging granola 🙃
🌱Good news buried in this article is that consumers are almost unanimously (91%) willing to try *plant * based alternatives to meat.
As the 🇩🇰 minister says, we need to enact policy levers to make that shift ‘easy and tasty’ instead of blaming.
@eu2025dk.bsky.social should have lots to share!
As the 🇩🇰 minister says, we need to enact policy levers to make that shift ‘easy and tasty’ instead of blaming.
@eu2025dk.bsky.social should have lots to share!
June 26, 2025 at 4:51 AM
🌱Good news buried in this article is that consumers are almost unanimously (91%) willing to try *plant * based alternatives to meat.
As the 🇩🇰 minister says, we need to enact policy levers to make that shift ‘easy and tasty’ instead of blaming.
@eu2025dk.bsky.social should have lots to share!
As the 🇩🇰 minister says, we need to enact policy levers to make that shift ‘easy and tasty’ instead of blaming.
@eu2025dk.bsky.social should have lots to share!
And this is not even a concern for most consumers, as long as the label is clear! ➡️ tinyurl.com/BEUCVeggieBu...
June 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
And this is not even a concern for most consumers, as long as the label is clear! ➡️ tinyurl.com/BEUCVeggieBu...
😔Child obesity rates in England set to rise in *90%* of the country. Of course the areas most affected are also the most deprived.
Who can doubt that the food system is broken? And at what point does the drastic deterioration in children’s health see a policy response at the necessary scale?
Who can doubt that the food system is broken? And at what point does the drastic deterioration in children’s health see a policy response at the necessary scale?
June 23, 2025 at 8:36 AM
😔Child obesity rates in England set to rise in *90%* of the country. Of course the areas most affected are also the most deprived.
Who can doubt that the food system is broken? And at what point does the drastic deterioration in children’s health see a policy response at the necessary scale?
Who can doubt that the food system is broken? And at what point does the drastic deterioration in children’s health see a policy response at the necessary scale?
🚥 So who said the #NutriScore was over?
Fantastic news as Romania prioritises consumer interests and approves the use of the label + officially notifies it to the Commission.
Let the momentum continue 👀
technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notificat...
Fantastic news as Romania prioritises consumer interests and approves the use of the label + officially notifies it to the Commission.
Let the momentum continue 👀
technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notificat...
June 12, 2025 at 10:30 AM
🚥 So who said the #NutriScore was over?
Fantastic news as Romania prioritises consumer interests and approves the use of the label + officially notifies it to the Commission.
Let the momentum continue 👀
technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notificat...
Fantastic news as Romania prioritises consumer interests and approves the use of the label + officially notifies it to the Commission.
Let the momentum continue 👀
technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notificat...
Fraser Goodwin of @epha-eu.bsky.social:
Poor diets are much more than just personal choices. Highlights the report from @beuc.eu @epha-eu.bsky.social and @eurogroupforanimals.org ‘The Illusion of Choice’ - it is #foodenvironments which need changed
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
Poor diets are much more than just personal choices. Highlights the report from @beuc.eu @epha-eu.bsky.social and @eurogroupforanimals.org ‘The Illusion of Choice’ - it is #foodenvironments which need changed
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
June 11, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Fraser Goodwin of @epha-eu.bsky.social:
Poor diets are much more than just personal choices. Highlights the report from @beuc.eu @epha-eu.bsky.social and @eurogroupforanimals.org ‘The Illusion of Choice’ - it is #foodenvironments which need changed
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
Poor diets are much more than just personal choices. Highlights the report from @beuc.eu @epha-eu.bsky.social and @eurogroupforanimals.org ‘The Illusion of Choice’ - it is #foodenvironments which need changed
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
@beuc.eu Director @arcapde.bsky.social highlights the excoriating rise of NCDs in Europe as well as the worrying levels of childhood #obesity.
Consumers want to eat healthier and more sustainably but the #foodenvironments we live in push them in the wrong direction. Needs tackled!
Consumers want to eat healthier and more sustainably but the #foodenvironments we live in push them in the wrong direction. Needs tackled!
June 11, 2025 at 4:44 PM
@beuc.eu Director @arcapde.bsky.social highlights the excoriating rise of NCDs in Europe as well as the worrying levels of childhood #obesity.
Consumers want to eat healthier and more sustainably but the #foodenvironments we live in push them in the wrong direction. Needs tackled!
Consumers want to eat healthier and more sustainably but the #foodenvironments we live in push them in the wrong direction. Needs tackled!
Götz Brandau, LIDL, makes the point that it’s easy to point the figure at consumers but you need to make sure the offer is there for them.
Having plant based options in the product categories at the supermarket is key!
Having plant based options in the product categories at the supermarket is key!
June 11, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Götz Brandau, LIDL, makes the point that it’s easy to point the figure at consumers but you need to make sure the offer is there for them.
Having plant based options in the product categories at the supermarket is key!
Having plant based options in the product categories at the supermarket is key!
MEP Wiesek @reneweurope.bsky.social makes lots of good points in his introductory remarks.
💚Plant based diets are an essential component of the transition to more sustainable food systems.
💚We have an inspiring example of how to do it from 🇩🇰.
💚Not about eliminating choices but expanding them!
💚Plant based diets are an essential component of the transition to more sustainable food systems.
💚We have an inspiring example of how to do it from 🇩🇰.
💚Not about eliminating choices but expanding them!
June 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
MEP Wiesek @reneweurope.bsky.social makes lots of good points in his introductory remarks.
💚Plant based diets are an essential component of the transition to more sustainable food systems.
💚We have an inspiring example of how to do it from 🇩🇰.
💚Not about eliminating choices but expanding them!
💚Plant based diets are an essential component of the transition to more sustainable food systems.
💚We have an inspiring example of how to do it from 🇩🇰.
💚Not about eliminating choices but expanding them!
🌱Packed room at today’s event in the @europarl.europa.eu on plant based foods.
Clear interest from across the political spectrum about how the EU can move to more production *and* more consumption of #plantbased food!
Clear interest from across the political spectrum about how the EU can move to more production *and* more consumption of #plantbased food!
June 11, 2025 at 3:18 PM
🌱Packed room at today’s event in the @europarl.europa.eu on plant based foods.
Clear interest from across the political spectrum about how the EU can move to more production *and* more consumption of #plantbased food!
Clear interest from across the political spectrum about how the EU can move to more production *and* more consumption of #plantbased food!
🥤‘It can’t be up to parents, grandparents + other concerned individuals to regulate this massive industry + its insidious advertising.’
⚽️Nice article on why #CocaCola pays💰for sports sponsorship (+ why it should be stopped from doing so)👇
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...
⚽️Nice article on why #CocaCola pays💰for sports sponsorship (+ why it should be stopped from doing so)👇
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...
June 10, 2025 at 9:24 PM
🥤‘It can’t be up to parents, grandparents + other concerned individuals to regulate this massive industry + its insidious advertising.’
⚽️Nice article on why #CocaCola pays💰for sports sponsorship (+ why it should be stopped from doing so)👇
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...
⚽️Nice article on why #CocaCola pays💰for sports sponsorship (+ why it should be stopped from doing so)👇
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...
At today’s @euractiv.com conference Agri commissioner @christophehansen.bsky.social underlines the importance of reciprocity on #animalwelfare for both agricultural producers + NGOS.
Our @beuc.eu survey showed indeed that this is very important to consumers too 👇
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
Our @beuc.eu survey showed indeed that this is very important to consumers too 👇
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
June 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
At today’s @euractiv.com conference Agri commissioner @christophehansen.bsky.social underlines the importance of reciprocity on #animalwelfare for both agricultural producers + NGOS.
Our @beuc.eu survey showed indeed that this is very important to consumers too 👇
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
Our @beuc.eu survey showed indeed that this is very important to consumers too 👇
www.beuc.eu/sites/defaul...
🥣Breakfast cereal industry-funded paper says breakfast cereals are healthy shocker.
But what about the fact cereals are one of the biggest contributors to sugar intake?
Unfortunately the word ‘reformulation’ doesn’t appear once.
Instead ‘policy messaging’ (ie consumer education) is preferred 🙄
But what about the fact cereals are one of the biggest contributors to sugar intake?
Unfortunately the word ‘reformulation’ doesn’t appear once.
Instead ‘policy messaging’ (ie consumer education) is preferred 🙄
June 3, 2025 at 7:34 AM
🥣Breakfast cereal industry-funded paper says breakfast cereals are healthy shocker.
But what about the fact cereals are one of the biggest contributors to sugar intake?
Unfortunately the word ‘reformulation’ doesn’t appear once.
Instead ‘policy messaging’ (ie consumer education) is preferred 🙄
But what about the fact cereals are one of the biggest contributors to sugar intake?
Unfortunately the word ‘reformulation’ doesn’t appear once.
Instead ‘policy messaging’ (ie consumer education) is preferred 🙄