"Instead of bringing clarity, food labels too often create confusion; there are hundreds of different schemes, logos and claims that people need to decipher," said Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, an ECA auditor.
"Companies can be very creative in what they put on packaging, and EU rules have not caught up with a constantly evolving market, leaving some 450 million European consumers vulnerable to intentionally or unintentionally misleading messages."
An energy bar with lots of sugar can for example be branded simply as 'high in protein' and a fatty orange cookie as a 'source of fibre', according to the report.
Even when such claims are false, checks and penalties are weak and almost non-existent for online food sales, it said.
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