Food labelling verdict 'could be a threat to consumer health'

A leading health advisory body has expressed serious concern about the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) decision not to enforce 'traffic light' labelling on food packaging.

The FSA announced yesterday (March 11th) that traffic light labelling - which indicates the guideline daily amounts (GDAs) of key food ingredients in a particular product using a three-colour code - would not be made compulsory.

However, Paul Lincoln, chief executive of the National Heart Forum, pointed out that independent research had shown the system was the one which best helped consumers to identify elements such as calories, salt, sugar and saturated fat.

An excess of salt and saturated fat in the diet can increase the chances of developing heart disease, in addition to other conditions such as diabetes.

Mr Lincoln worried that the FSA's ruling meant consumers were being denied "the most useful scheme in the market", and warned that the decision could even be a disincentive for food manufacturers that are currently using the system to continue doing so.

"There is quite a lot of evidence that when you put these front-of-pack labels on packs, it does encourage the producers to reformulate [food products] but also it does change consumer [purchasing] behaviour," he explained.

Posted by Lauren Cook