by Sarah Hills FoodBizDaily.com London
March 11 2010 - The board of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has agreed to a single approach to front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling, which it claims will best help consumers make healthier choices when they buy food.
The food industry will now be encouraged to use all of the three elements the FSA wants to see on packaging, which are traffic light colours (red, amber and green), text (high, medium or low) and percentage Guideline Daily Amounts (% GDAs).
This way of presenting information about the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugars in a product was found by independent research to help UK consumers interpret nutritional information, according to the FSA,
It is also a signal that the FSA does not back the use of percentage GDAs alone - a system developed and implemented by the food industry and championed by the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA).
Currently, the majority of UK food manufacturers and retailers are voluntarily using some form of FOP labelling that meet part or all of the FSA's existing recommendations, with some using colours other than 'traffic lights.
But the FSA specifically said that to avoid consumer confusion, colours other than traffic lights should not be used.
Additionally, it was agreed that information on portion size should be realistic and not mislead and the labels should be used on a wider range of processed packaged foods.
Jeff Rooker, FSA board chair, said: “The board was clear that it wanted a single approach to front of pack labelling that works. Tremendous progress has been made by industry in taking up front-of-pack labelling but different schemes are causing confusion to consumers.”
However, earlier this week, the British Retail Consortium said food labelling regulations are currently being reviewed by the European Union and changing labels in the UK now ahead of a final decision in Europe “makes no sense”.
The CIAA has also previously raised concerns about proposed national schemes for food information, rather than an EU-wide scheme.
The FSA will now advise Ministers of its recommendations before a four to six week consultation on the technical guidance needed to implement the board's recommendations.