Shoppers favour 'traffic light' label system for food products

SHOPPERS want "traffic light" logos on the front of food packets to help them make healthy choices, according to research published yesterday.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) found strong support for colour-coded symbols that give nutritional information at a glance. The food industry, however, is wary of such a scheme, claiming it is too simplistic.

The government is keen to develop a universal "signposting" scheme to help in its fight against obesity. It would help shoppers to decide if a product is healthy or not without having to plough through nutritional information on the back of the packet. The FSA commissioned a study among 24 focus groups, which were shown five options. Participants strongly favoured two. The first is a single traffic light in either red, amber or green indicating the product should be eaten "sparingly", "in moderation" or in "plenty".

The FSA’s report suggests putting a red light on sugar-coated cornflakes and an amber light on a chicken fajita wrap.

A more complicated scheme would use multiple lights. The report cites a prawn mayonnaise sandwich that would have red lights for fat and salt, amber for saturates and green for sugar.

Rosemary Hignett, at the FSA, said: "We are hoping that because retailers and manufacturers are behind the idea of signposting, we can move towards a scheme they support."