Nutrition labelling is valued

7th May 2009, 2:38pm

Julian Hunt, of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), commented on the publication of the new research on front-of-pack nutrition labelling, explaining that she finds it valuable in helping consumers make better-informed food choices.

She explained: "We are busily digesting the findings of the research published. We are pleased it appears to show that consumers understand the labelling on the front of products and find it valuable in helping them make better-informed food choices.

"As we have always said, the UK is leading the world on nutrition labelling and our voluntary approach – based on Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) – is driving the debate across Europe, where a new labelling regulation is being developed.

"This is only one research study that will need to be considered carefully by policy makers both here and in Brussels. Only today, for instance, the European Food Safety Authority published a report that backs the science underpinning GDAs. And last week, the first results of a major EU project on labelling were published – and clearly demonstrated that GDAs are the most widely used scheme across Europe.

"Labelling is only part of the answer to tackling society's concerns about issues such as obesity: our members also continue their work on recipe changes, the developments of 'better for you' products and workplace wellbeing schemes designed to help people lead healthier lives."

The aim of the project, which is a culmination of almost 18 months of independent research, was to evaluate the impact of the various FOP nutritional signposting schemes on consumer understanding and behaviour.

The main conclusions from the research found that a single FOP scheme would be most helpful for shoppers, as the presence of different types of FOP labelling schemes in the marketplace causes shoppers difficulties in using them, and shoppers who use FOP labels value them; they use them particularly if they are shopping for children, comparing different products, if they have a particular health concern.

Findings also suggest that there is generally a high level of understanding of FOP labels, even among those who don't tend to use them.

The Agency will now take forward the findings, which show that shoppers would benefit from the single FOP scheme that includes the words 'high, medium and low', traffic light colours and percentage of Guideline Daily Amount (GDA).

Related Articles:

• 08 Jul 2009 - No health crunch on product innovation, says FDF
• 07 May 2009 - Reading behind the label

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