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It has become pretty clear that consumers in general are confused about the labelling on food products.

Different manufacturers and retailers using different codes and standards make it hard for a buyer to figure out whether the product they are buying is healthy or not, and what percentage of daily nutritional needs it supplies.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the U.K. has determined that the best-understood method of labelling uses the ‘traffic light system’, in which the colours red, yellow and green are related to high, medium and low levels of ‘unhealthy’ ingredients.  They are calling for a single industry standard that would also include the GDA (guideline daily amounts) percentage contained in each serving of the product.

The FAS says that initially two of the three elements should be included in the label, hopefully making the transition to universal labelling easier for both manufacturers and consumers.  They are trying to respond to customers’ wishes while allowing enough time for the businesses involved to make the adjustment.  Their proposal will be submitted at an open board meeting on March 10^th.

According to Clair Baynton at the FSA, even though the U.K. is a world leader in food package labelling, there is still a lot of confusion on the part of consumers.  However, the change to a single standard may have to wait for the rest of Europe to reach a similar decision.  The British Retail Consortium said that until such time it would be too costly and confusing for the U.K. to enforce its own official standard.

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