The MEPs signed a written declaration calling for a consultation on what can be done to encourage manufacturers to provide accessible labelling for blind or visually impaired people following a campaign by The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Sense, a charity for people who are deafblind.

Campaigners want products sold in shops to include Braille labelling stating, as a minimum, the name of the item and its expiry date.

All pharmaceutical products have been required to include labelling information in Braille since October 2010 under EU law.

Sue Brown, head of public policy at Sense, said that the lack of accessible labelling was a ‘huge’ barrier to the independence of deafblind people and that clear Braille labelling would enable them to make informed choices and safely use products in their home.

She added: "We’re now calling on the European Commission to ensure packaging in Europe’s shops is fully covered in Braille dots."

Alison Roberts, director of Pia, an accessible printing company that provides Braille printing, said that labelling mass-market items in Braille could be quite straightforward once manufacturers were set up to do it.

She added: "There some pitfalls to avoid: some that I have witnessed include labels where the Braille has been shrunk – you can’t shrink Braille because it has to be a specific size - or labels where the dots are not clear enough. Manufacturers should look at the example set by the pharmaceutical industry and see how they have introduced accessible labelling for their products."