Food for thought on labelling system

Jan 21 2008 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

CONCERNS have been raised that shoppers are being confused by different front-of-pack food labelling systems.

Research will now be carried out to evaluate both the Food Standards Agency’s traffic light scheme and the GDA (guideline daily amounts) system favoured by more than 50 manufacturers and retailers.

The work, by research company BMRB1, could ultimately lead to one standardised labelling system.

The Welsh Consumer Council said that the use of the different systems could confuse, rather than inform, shoppers about the nutritional content of foods, especially ready-made products.

Lindsey Kearton, senior policy officer at the Wales Consumer Council, said, “Having more than one system can lead to confusion.

“At the moment there seems to be a competitive element with the two schemes running alongside each other, although this, in itself, is some form of progress as it shows that front-of-pack information is something that manufacturers and retailers think is important.

“If we are trying to encourage people to eat more healthily, then it is important that they can make decisions quickly and easily – the traffic light system has been shown to work better among those groups who need to be eating more healthily.

“The argument against the traffic light system is that it will demonise some foods, but most people will used their common sense – it’s the hidden stuff, which consumers may not be so aware of, where these labels will help.”

Announcing the research into the labelling scheme, Dawn Primarolo, Public Health Minister, said, “We know that clear, simple front-of-pack labelling helps consumers make healthier choices and make a positive contribution to a healthy diet. This research will go further to show the most effective way of labelling foods, and will be crucial in making the case for a single labelling system.

“We are working closely with industry on labelling, and hope that they will go further and introduce the best way of labelling in line with what this research recommends.”

Jane Holdsworth, GDA campaign director, said, “Both GDA labelling and FSA colour-coding are aimed at achieving the same result – clearer food labelling for consumers.

“We’ve chosen to use numbers instead of colours because it’s a more accurate way for consumers to tell if a product contains a higher or lower amount of a particular nutrient, compared to another product.

“It’s also important to note that colour-coding is recommended by the FSA for certain composite foods and they publicly acknowledge that they are not intended for use across all categories.

“A GDA-based scheme is based on fact, can be used across all food and non-alcoholic drink categories and does not demonise foods.

“It tells individuals what is in a stated portion of food.

“Colour-coding is based on 100g portions and so tells consumers whether a food would be high, medium or low in a nutrient if they ate a portion that size.

“By showing what proportion of the GDA is in the stated portion, GDA labels show if a product contains a lot (large %) or a little (small %) of the GDA.

“By giving factual information on foods, rather than judging 100g amounts, GDAs encourage individuals to construct a healthy diet over the whole day.”

The FSA has launched a series of television adverts to raise awareness of the red, amber and green traffic light labels on many food products.

Buses will also be displaying traffic light ads this month.

Sarah Rowles, head of nutrition at Food Standards Agency Wales, said, “The FSA traffic light signpost labelling scheme was developed, following extensive consumer research, to make it easier for consumers to eat more healthily.

“Food products with traffic light labels on the front of the pack show shoppers at a glance if the food they are thinking about buying has high, medium or low amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt, helping them to get a better balance in their diet, and putting them in control.”