Best Practice & Ethics
Industry misleading on nutritional labelling
Nutritional signposting schemes promoted by the
food industry have come under attack from the
National Heart Forum (NHF),
which has accused them of being overly complex and misleading. The NHF
examined front-of-pack labels displaying daily guideline amounts (GDA),
and argued that these guidelines are not appropriate for labelling and
companies are mixing up GDAs with other claims and promotional labels.
Jane Landon, NHF deputy chief executive, said the
presentation of GDA percentage ratings falsely suggests these numbers
are daily targets. In fact, said Landon, reading the back of the
packaging will reveal that for fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt these
figures represent limits and not targets.
Some manufacturers and retailers, she added, even
seem to be manipulating this labelling to promote their products rather
than inform their customers.
The NHF recommended instead the
Food Standards Agency’s traffic
light labels, saying consumer research has shown these to work best in
providing shoppers with information to make a real, healthy change in
their habits.
Links
National Heart Forum
Food Standards Agency
March 2007 |
