Put mandatory nutrition labels on all food packaging to combat ‘obesity crisis’, government urged
Due to the country’s ongoing “obesity crisis”, the government is being pressured to make nutrition labels on the front of food products mandatory.
Consumer champion Which? He said a “better approach” is needed to help individuals make healthier eating decisions.
The call follows the organisation’s research which found shoppers prefer the current traffic light labeling system.
But the study also showed a desire for improvements, particularly more prominent placement and increased size of these labels.
Introduced in 2013, the traffic light system uses green, yellow and red indicators to indicate low, medium and high levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt, as well as calorie information.
Although widely used by major manufacturers and retailers, its implementation in the UK is voluntary rather than a legal requirement.
But According to Which One? The system is used inconsistently.
He claims that some stores do not include traffic light stickers or offer them without color code.
Which Research? Views were obtained from the mobile phones of more than 500 shoppers to find out how the traffic light system works for customers.
A third (33 percent) said the first thing they look at on the front of a package is the nutrition label.
People most commonly used the traffic light system when choosing snacks (56 percent), dairy products (33 percent) and breakfast cereals (27 percent).
Nearly half (47 percent) said this labeling was easy to understand.
In focus groups, the traffic light system was the preferred food labeling option, but suggestions for improving the system included making it more prominent and larger.
Which? He said people were also calling for the plan to be made clearer, such as making the recommended serving size on some products more realistic and consistent.
The consumer champion is now calling on the government to introduce a mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling scheme.
He said this could build on the existing traffic light system to make it work better for shoppers by improving consistency, making it more obvious and removing aspects people might find confusing.
Which? Sue Davies, Head of Food Policy, said: “The UK is in the midst of an obesity crisis and it is clear that a better approach to front-of-pack labeling is needed to help shoppers make healthier choices.
“Which? It calls on the government to ensure that all manufacturers and retailers use front-of-pack nutrition labeling, ideally by making it mandatory.
“Our research shows that people still prefer traffic light nutrition labeling, but the current scheme needs to be updated to be clearer, simpler and work better for consumers.
“The new system needs to be supported by effective implementation and oversight by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, so shoppers can have full confidence in the labels on their food.”
By 2022, around 64 per cent of adults in England are estimated to be overweight or living with obesity.
November also revealed that one in 10 children in the first year of primary school in England are obese; This is the highest number recorded outside of the pandemic.
Obesity is estimated to cost the NHS more than £11 billion each year.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “This Government is introducing a modernized food nutrient scoring system to reduce obesity.
“This is just one element of the strong action we are taking to tackle the obesity crisis as part of our 10 Year Health Plan, which will shift the focus from disease to prevention.
“We are also restricting junk food advertising on television and online, limiting bulk price promotions on less healthy foods and introducing mandatory reporting on healthy food sales.”
