Shoppers favour 'traffic light' label system for food products
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) found strong support for colour-coded symbols that give nutritional information at a glance. The food industry, however, is wary of such a scheme, claiming it is too simplistic.
The government is keen to develop a universal "signposting" scheme to help in its fight against obesity. It would help shoppers to decide if a product is healthy or not without having to plough through nutritional information on the back of the packet. The FSA commissioned a study among 24 focus groups, which were shown five options. Participants strongly favoured two. The first is a single traffic light in either red, amber or green indicating the product should be eaten "sparingly", "in moderation" or in "plenty".
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Hide AdThe FSA’s report suggests putting a red light on sugar-coated cornflakes and an amber light on a chicken fajita wrap.
A more complicated scheme would use multiple lights. The report cites a prawn mayonnaise sandwich that would have red lights for fat and salt, amber for saturates and green for sugar.
Rosemary Hignett, at the FSA, said: "We are hoping that because retailers and manufacturers are behind the idea of signposting, we can move towards a scheme they support."