Consumers to have final say in front of pack health labelling
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has accepted the gauntlet thrown down by manufacturers to let the public decide what form of competing 'front of pack' health labelling schemes they find most useful.
Responding to a call made by Food and Drink Federation (FDF) president Gavin Neath for the various front of pack labelling schemes to be reviewed after two years to decide which shoppers prefer, FSA director of consumer choice and dietary health Gill Fine has recognised the need for research to determine consumer preferences.
“Our research is that consumers would like a single scheme that they can trust,” said Fine. “So we are enthusiastic about the research outlined by Gavin. Let us find out and move forward. We need to find out what's working and what consumers understand by it.”
Fine accepted Neath's argument that more information was necessary to find out “what drives the right behaviours” among shoppers. While pleased that the FDF was prepared to work with the FSA on this issue, she said the “key challenge” would be in getting companies to share data. Neath doubted this would be a problem. “In the end, we must have one system for the consumer,” he said.
Neath called for greater collaboration between government and the food industry in helping to improve the nation's health: “Like it or not we are condemned to work together.”
Sainsbury is rolling out its 'Wheel of Health' on all own-label products. This approach makes use of colour-coded traffic light labelling whose simplicity earlier research commissioned by the FSA has shown consumers to like. However, manufacturers have argued for what they consider a more informative numerical approach using Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) and many are going ahead with this option. But there are concerns that consumers will be confused by the various different labelling schemes they encounter.
Neath warned delegates at the Federation of Bakers annual conference last week that traffic light labelling would “drive the wrong consumer behaviours”. He argued that unless manufacturers and retailers had incentives to develop healthier versions of foods within particular categories - such as lower fat butters and mayonnaise, which would still have to carry red labels under the traffic light proposals - they would be unlikely to develop such products in future, with adverse health consequences. “There is a carrot and stick element to this which is very important,” he added.
In contrast, Sainsbury's trading director Mike Coupe believed shoppers were perfectly capable of making further informed choices within food categories flagged up as red for the high levels of fat, sugar and salt they might contain. “The nub of the argument is whether Hellman's Mayonnaise is inherently healthy,” he said, whether in higher or reduced fat versions. “It doesn't stop you buying it, but it makes you think twice if you pick up something that is red and I don't think that is bad.”
