The European Union is set to adopt a new legislation on the labeling and content of baby milk and other special foods, replacing various pieces of current legislation to simplify the rules for the interest of consumers.

The European Parliament's public health committee on Wednesday approved the proposal, which is to be voted by all members of the Parliament in June.

The proposal mainly concerns milk formula for infants and babies, processed cereal-based food, food for special medical purposes and total diet replacement for weight control, etc. It aims at clearly distinguishing between foods for normal consumption and foods for special groups.

The draft stipulates that the labeling of milk-based preparations for babies up to 12 months should not include any pictures of infants or other pictures encouraging the use of such preparations, in a bid to make sure that breast-feeding is not discouraged.

It has also been agreed that special rules on the labeling of gluten and lactose should be drawn up in separate legislation on consumer information, as lactose is not covered by common rules at the EU level.