A new voluntary food labelling system has been launched to warn shoppers of high calorie and fat content.
The new system, which will see labelling made consistent across all supermarkets, will include information on guideline daily amounts (GDAs), be colour coded with a traffic light system and use the words "high" "medium" or "low" to inform people about how much fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories are in food products.
The proposed system, which is the result of a three-month consultation with retailers, manufacturers and “other interested parties”, is a combination of guideline daily amounts (GDA), ‘traffic light’ colour coding and ‘high, medium or low’ text indicating levels of fat, salt and sugar in each product.
Ministers, retailers and food groups are set to meet today to discuss the design of the labels, and to decide the thresholds for categories.
Health Minister Anna Soubry said: "The UK already has the largest number of products with front of pack labels in Europe but research has shown that consumers get confused by the wide variety of labels used. By having a consistent system we will all be able to see at a glance what is in our food. This will help us all choose healthier options and control our calorie intake.
"Obesity and poor diet cost the NHS billions of pounds every year. Making small changes to our diet can have a big impact on our health and could stop us getting serious illnesses, such as heart disease, later in life."
Peter Hollins, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This is a quantum leap for public health and the result of tireless work by health campaigners and positive action by our governments. It's now down to each and every retailer and manufacturer to step up and introduce these consistent front of pack food labels, including traffic light colours, so shoppers can make healthy food choices at a glance."
