Wilczynskicolour me inan empirical study on consumer responses to the traffic light signposting system in nutrition labelling public health nutrition, 15 5 2012, pp. According to the study, published in the journal preventive medicine, a simple colour coded labelling system encouraged customers in a hospital cafeteria in massachusetts to purchase the most healthy food items a european dispute. Call for mandatory traffic light food labels news the times. The traffic light labelling system will tell you whether a food has high, medium or low amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. The traffic light system in schools in accordance with the act public school food and drink policy 2015, the provision and sale of all food and drinks in act public schools must meet the national healthy school canteens. Final design of consistent nutritional labelling system given. Traffic light colours should be a key component of all fop labels because they help people. As a means of empowering consumers, nutrition labelling has become a widely discussed topic. However, a traffic light system of red, amber, or green labelling will not be adopted. The governments recommended format is red, amber, green colourcoding and percentage reference intakes, or as you may better recognise it traffic light labelling. Look out for traffic light labels on processed convenience foods such as pizzas, ready meals, pies, burgers, sausages, sandwiches and breakfast cereals.
Trafficlight labels could reduce population intakes of calories, total. Food industry digs in heels over traffic light labels. States should stand up to the food industry on traffic. Hybrid system for food labelling given green light. The information on food labels may be quite intimidating to less educated consumers, which explains consumers interest in the easier to understand traffic light labeling system, which was.
In response, the food standards agency fsa developed proposals for a trafficlight front of pack fop labelling system, using colour coding to identify foods with low, medium or high amounts of four key nutrients total fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt. The existence of two different schemes is confusing, and the use of percentages in one scheme disadvantages the many adults and children that have difficulty in understanding percentages. Whenever possible, foods assigned a red traffic light for one or more of the. Ab food nutrition has many years of experience in food labelling and carrying out nutrition calculations for both mandatory back of pack nutrition labelling and voluntary front of pack multiple traffic light systems. The food industrys 1billion campaign to block health warnings on food. Canadian adults aged 19 and older n 19,915 who responded to the canadian. The ama believes that the government must mandate traffic light labelling on packaged food and drink products. Traffic light nutritional labelling cancer research uk. Read our interview with dr matt cole to find out more about his project on front of packaging traffic light nutrition labelling the food standards agency fsa developed the traffic light nutrition label that gives consumers independent expert scientific dietary advice to help them make healthier choices quickly and easily. Next week meps are due to vote on new legislation on food labelling determining what nutritional information should be displayed on the packaging of items such as snacks, soft drinks and readymeals. Oct 17, 20 several small, experimental studies have suggested that traffic light labels can be an effective method of promoting healthier choices, but there have been few realworld studies of customers perceptions and purchasing behaviors in response to this type of labeling, explained lillian sonnenberg of mgh nutrition and food service. Nutritional food labelling current thinking and practice. Food labelling information nutrition nutrition labelling will be required on all prepacked food from th december 2016. Foods with green indicators are healthier and to be preferred over those with red ones.
Call for mandatory traffic light food labels news the. Background trafficlight labelling tll is a promising frontofpack system to help consumers make informed dietary choices. Portuguese consumers attitudes towards food labelling. Impact of frontofpack trafficlight nutrition labelling on consumer food purchases in the uk. Traffic light labelling could prevent mortality from. The new labels will use the red, amber and green symbols of the traffic light to visually represent the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt, sugars and calories. It is difficult for australian families to find the right information they need to make healthy choices about the food they consume. The new labels will use the red, amber and green symbols of the traffic light to visually represent the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt, sugars and calories present across prepackaged food per 100g.
Pdf trafficlight nutrition labelling and junkfood tax. Remember, as adults we should be consuming no more than 30g of free sugars per day although the traffic light colour coding provides useful information at a glance, the % ri on the label gives you a little more information about how much of an average adults daily intake limit. The present study investigated stakeholders reactions to the introduction of a traffic light food classification system in primary. Alongside these traffic lights, the label generally shows the amount of these nutrients in a portion of the food or drink and the percentage of your reference intake ri a portion of the product provides.
Traffic light food labels were first introduced in the uk with the aim of providing consumers with a clearer indication about the amount of salt, sugar or fat contained in the products they. According to the results of the focus groups, the traffic light scheme is best understood. Traffic light food labels gain momentum across europe. Front of pack nutritional signpost labelling technical guidance issue 1january 2007 page 4 of 12 2. There was particular appetite for usage of nutrition and health information in line with current social trends towards healthier eating habits. Although the traffic light label designs may look different, you can still compare these foods because the companies are all using the food standards agency guidelines. Food may be labelled with a traffic light label showing how much fat, saturated fats, sugar and salt are in that food by using the traffic light signals for high red, medium amber and low green percentages for each of these ingredients. A third of products in the uk do not have red, yellow or green boxes to. In the present study, we analyse the effects of the traffic light signposting scheme on consumers food choices. The traffic light label is an effective tool for conveying complex information. First they need to print out a sheet of blank labels which also comes with a shopping reminder for the parents. Traffic light food labelling the evidence the problem of obesity concerns about the implications of obesity are not new. Oct 24, 2012 new food labelling system to come into force to tackle obesity. Shoppers can see at a glance a foods profile of compliance with the guidelines for each of.
The colours will correspond to whether a food is high, medium and low in a particular item. Table 2 shows the values for each colour per 100 g of food product. Its potential contribution to reduce consumption of products with high levels of fat, sugar and salt could be enhanced by promoting healthy diets among consumers who have not changed purchasing and consumption behaviour, by placing the label on front panels and by monitoring the production and. Traffic light food labelling the evidence australian. You will notice in figure 8 that the nutrient values are coloured red, amber or green, depending on whether the value is high, medium or low. Facts up front conditions on measures of nutrition knowledge and label perceptions. The proposal, which must now be approved by european union governments and the european parliament, is part of the commissions antiobesity strategy. Traffic light food labels were first introduced in the uk with the aim of providing consumers with a clearer indication about the amount of salt, sugar or fat contained in the products they buy. First, any traffic light or similar nutrition labelling scheme needs to remain, both in theory and in practice, voluntary.
Traffic light labelling on food and drink should be made mandatory after brexit, according to the local government association. Nov 30, 2011 2 traffic light labels would provide an incentive for food manufacturers to reformulate their products to make them more healthy so they can display more green and amber lights, and fewer red lights. Uk urged to make traffic light food labelling mandatory. View leaflet on nutrition labelling requirements under regulation 11692011 as pdf 371. Nutriscore, multiple traffic light and incomplete nutrition. Guidelines for healthy foods and drinks supplied in school canteens 20 nhscg. It is also designed to update rules on food labelling first introduced 30 years ago. Zimmet and james recommend trafficlight food labels red, amber, green as a way of educating shoppers in the nutritional quality of foods. These values are based on the scientific advisory committee on nutrition sacn. World cancer research fund uk wants to see all food retailers and.
Frontofpack trafficlight nutrition labelling has been widely proposed as a tool to improve public health nutrition. With widening waistbands and increasing pressure on the nhs, the government have responded by introducing a traffic light food rating system. Budding nutritionists can see the power of traffic light food labels by sticking them on a few of the foods in the pantry. Jun 19, 2018 a consumer group is calling for mandatory traffic light food labelling postbrexit, after warning that inconsistent information on popular adult breakfast cereals could be misleading.
The traffic light system also ignores foods that have more constituents than the few listed nutrients. Facts up front versus traffic light food labels uconn rudd. Front of pack traffic light signpost labelling technical. Whilst the agency is not recommending traffic light labelling on drinks, the criteria in table 2 should be followed if manufacturers of drinks choose to apply traffic light labelling to their products. Should food products be labeled with traffic light symbols to make healthrelated information on ingredients easier to understand.
May 27, 2016 read our interview with dr matt cole to find out more about his project on front of packaging traffic light nutrition labelling the food standards agency fsa developed the traffic light nutrition label that gives consumers independent expert scientific dietary advice to help them make healthier choices quickly and easily. Along with the implementation of the dig and hsr systems as noted above, a traffic light labelling system is used by state and federal governments to classify products sold in school canteens. Food labels are a challenge for most consumers, and the development of easily understandable labelling is essential when it comes to empowering consumers in making healthier food choices. Recent estimates suggest that 2 billion people worldwide are either overweight or obese swinburn et al, 2011. Shoppers confused by traffic light food labels, says study. Traffic light food labelling australian medical association. Trafficlight labelling has been proposed as a public health intervention to reduce chronic disease risk by improving the dietary intakes of consumers 1,2. Trafficlight labels could reduce population intakes of. Such traffic light systems are intended to simplify the nutritional value information displayed on the pack, but have been met with some strong criticism. States should stand up to the food industry on traffic light.
Unhealthy diet, overweight and obesity are major preventable risk factors for many types of cancer. A qualitative study of consumer perceptions and use of. Shoppers confused by traffic light food labels, says study posted on 03 jul 2015. We found that the range of labels used by retailers and manufacturers can be confusing to customers for a number of reasons. The opponents of traffic light labelling raise the criticism that it is based on subjective norms. A consumer group is calling for mandatory traffic light food labelling postbrexit, after warning that inconsistent information on popular adult breakfast cereals could be misleading. Food labelling information nutrition worcestershire ts. However, the frontofpack labelling system has been an option for food manufacturers and suppliers selling within the uk since the department of. Final design of consistent nutritional labelling system given green light. Impact of frontofpack trafficlight nutrition labelling.
New food labelling system to come into force to tackle obesity. Clear nutritional labelling is important to enable people to make healthier food choices. Front of pack fop nutritional labelling enables consumers to understand whats in the. Traffic light labelling helping people make healthy choices. The report, based on the results of facetoface interviews with shoppers, finds that while most people check frontofpack fop labels and recognise their importance, the traffic light system used by many retailers is ambiguous to consumers, who also suffer from information overload and a lack of contextual knowledge. Traffic light labelling colour coding pattern of foods and beverages. In some cases, where there isnt much room on the label, just energy values will be displayed but the full nutrition information will be available on the back of pack. Improved frontofpack labelling helps people make informed and healthy choices, and will complement. Several small, experimental studies have suggested that traffic light labels can be an effective method of promoting healthier choices, but there have been few realworld studies of customers perceptions and purchasing behaviors in response to this type of labeling, explained lillian sonnenberg of mgh nutrition and food service.
The ama believes that a system of traffic light labelling on food products can provide easy to understand nutritional information for people to make those choices. Trafficlight labels could reduce population intakes of calories, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Traffic light labelling world cancer research fund. The food industry in australia is quick to highlight the rejection of the trafficlight system by the parliament of the european union in favour their preferred dig approach to labelling. Traffic light nutrition labelling new food magazine. Each project is handled with meticulous care to maximise accuracy whilst offering value for money and unparalleled customer support.
It has been shown that adopting tll in canada, through an optimistic scenario of avoiding, if possible, foods with red traffic lights, could effectively reduce canadians intakes of energy, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium by 5%, %, 14% and 6%, respectively. Pdf traffic light food labelling in schools and beyond. This study examined changes to consumer food purchases after the introduction of trafficlight labels with the aim of assessing the impact of the labels on the healthiness of foods purchased. Frontofpack labelling policies and the need for guidance. In response, the food standards agency fsa developed proposals for a trafficlight front of pack fop labelling system, using colour coding to identify foods with low, medium or high amounts of four key nutrients. Using front of pack labels is really useful when you want to quickly compare different food products. Guide to creating a front of pack fop nutrition label. It will also tell you the number of calories and kilojoules in that particular product.
A traffic light labelling system improves consumer awareness of health and healthy choices at the point of purchase, according to an american study which adds further research to an issue which has proved prickly in europe of late. Simplicity and uniformity of labelling systems are regarded as the prevailing demands from the consumer side. In this respect, opponents argue that the traffic light is not a suitable measure for combating overweight. Guide to creating a front of pack fop nutrition label for. Colour me in an empirical study on consumer responses to. New trafficlight food labels get goahead health news. Research has shown that the use of consistent fop labelling across as many food products as possible will help consumers to become familiar with its format, and to use it to balance their diet and control their energy intake. Furthermore, it is argued that the traffic light may not lead to healthier food choices, since it does not differentiate sufficiently between healthy and unhealthy foods. Front of pack nutritional signpost labelling technical. Final design of consistent nutritional labelling system. Trafficlight labels are a form of interpretative frontofpack fop nutrition rating systems that provide information on the amount of calories and selected nutrients found within a specified amount of food i. The aim of fop nutritional labelling is to help customers make healthy dietary choices as an aid to reducing obesity. European commission opts against traffic light system for. Nutritional food labelling current thinking and practice tim.
In the traffic light system, green creates a false. How traffic light labels promote healthier eating harvard. Feb 09, 2008 however, a traffic light system of red, amber, or green labelling will not be adopted. Traffic light labelling has been proposed as a public health intervention to improve the dietary intakes of consumers. Click this link for a page of blank traffic light labels in pdf form. Front of pack nutritional signpost labelling technical guidance. Improving food choices the importance of traffic light labelling. Traffic light labelling scores different nutritional content in packaged foods such as salt, calorie, sugar and fat content as red for unhealthy, amber for moderate, and green for healthy.
38 45 314 258 1381 1058 514 1304 598 256 35 565 1061 772 322 67 879 1085 179 1297 1276 643 633 239 828 543 96 769 272 265 1188 1237 425 1443 907 608 764 1177 907 1037 612 669