EFLA Conference 2026, “From Labels to Algorithms: Food Information in the Digital Era”, will take place on 1 December 2026 in Vevey, Switzerland (kindly hosted by Nestlé).
Registrations open soon.
Ticket Prices
- EFLA Members: €620 (excl. VAT)
- Non-Members: €765 (excl. VAT)
Concept
Food information law in the EU is increasingly shaped by digital distribution channels (marketplaces, search engines, social media, AI assistants) as well as new forms of influence (targeted advertising, recommender systems, influencer marketing). At the same time, the Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011), now marking 15 years since its adoption, was developed primarily around on-pack disclosures and a relatively linear consumer purchasing journey.
This event will explore the legal and regulatory grey areas that emerge when food information is:
- Personalised, through algorithmic targeting and tailored content;
- Contextual, appearing in search results, product previews, voice assistant responses, or AI-generated summaries;
- Decentralised, through influencers, content creators, and affiliate marketing ecosystems;
- Digitally delivered, via QR codes, digital product pages, and dynamic online content; and
- Impacting vulnerable consumer groups, including children and people with food allergies or intolerances.
Programme
Paola Corte, EFLA President (Greetings)
Leanne Geale, Nestlé (Opening address)
Session I: "15 years of FIC: rethinking consumer information beyond the pack"
Manon Ombredane, Squire Patton Boggs (Recent CJEU case law on FIC: the evolving canon of the “average consumer")
Paola Corte, Studio Legale Corte (Nomen Omen: Recent Case Law on Legal Names and Policy Developments)
Francesco Planchenstainer, Nestlé (Who is being protected? Courts’ interpretation of front-of-pack putrition labelling requirements)
Emily Amat, DWF (Roundtable: beyond harmonisation: voluntary nutrition schemes, member state activism and private rating systems)
Round table: FIC & precautionary allergen labelling (PAL): where harmonization is thin - Member States approach to PAL
Karin Verzijden, Axon Lawyers (Netherlands)
Vincente Rodriguez, Legal Agrifood Abogados (Spain)
Nicola Smith, Squire Patton Boggs (UK)
Session II: "the digital dimensions of food information: platforms, search engines, influences and beyond"
Michael Siegrist, Zurich Institute of Technology (Risk, uncertainty and trust: how consumers respond to new technologies)
Iain Walker, GS1 (The label to come: QR codes, digital labeling, dynamic content & the future of mandatory particulars)
Ayse Prager, Nestlé (Digital Fairness Act & Audiovisual Compact: what it could mean for food marketing)
Yau Wong, Amazon (Applying FIC to distance selling and online platforms: product information, search algorithms and shared responsabilty)
Peter Loosen, German Food Federation (Industry self-regulation: managing influencer use in practice)
Francesco Planchenstainer, Nestlé (Concluding Remarks)