New food labelling system announced

The new colour-coded label system will include information on guideline daily amounts
24 October 2012

Food labelling will be made consistent across all supermarkets so that shoppers can easily spot the healthiest option, it is expected to be announced.

The new labelling system will provide consumers with clear information on the content of the food, Health Minister Anna Soubry said.

The new system will include information on guideline daily amounts (GDAs), be colour coded with a traffic light system and use the words "high" "medium" or "low" to inform people about how much fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories are in food products.

Ms Soubry said: "The UK already has the largest number of products with front of pack labels in Europe but research has shown that consumers get confused by the wide variety of labels used. By having a consistent system we will all be able to see at a glance what is in our food. This will help us all choose healthier options and control our calorie intake.

"Obesity and poor diet cost the NHS billions of pounds every year. Making small changes to our diet can have a big impact on our health and could stop us getting serious illnesses, such as heart disease, later in life."

The design of the new label is yet to be decided, a Department of Health spokeswoman said. The new label is expected to be in use by summer next year.

Peter Hollins, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This is a quantum leap for public health and the result of tireless work by health campaigners and positive action by our governments. It's now down to each and every retailer and manufacturer to step up and introduce these consistent front of pack food labels, including traffic light colours, so shoppers can make healthy food choices at a glance."

Richard Lloyd, executive director at consumer group Which?, added: "With levels of obesity and diet-related disease on the increase it's vitally important that people know what's in their food so that they can make an informed choice."

Barbara Gallani, director of food safety and science at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said: "The UK has led the way in developing approaches to front-of-pack labelling and FDF members have voluntarily provided this information for many years. Per portion per cent GDA information, which in many cases has been implemented consistently across Europe, helps consumers put the food they eat in the context of their overall diet.

"Our members are committed to continuing to provide clear nutrition information to consumers and we will be actively engaged in further discussions with the Department of Health following today's announcement."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in