Last month U.K supermarket giant Tesco announced it will soon launch a traffic light labeling system on all of it’s own-brand products. This move comes after the traffic light labeling model created by the U.K Food Standards agency has been embraced by some smaller supermarkets in Britain.
Tesco – who already uses the industry-championed daily percentage intake labeling system – has taken the initiative to create a hybrid of both the daily intake and traffic light systems. Research undertaken by Tesco has shown that combining the labeling systems does affect consumer choices. Shoppers who are not usually bothered with reading the table on the side of the box take notice of the colours, helping them choose the healthier option for themselves and their family.
Whether or not the Australian government will introduce a traffic light labeling system for products sold in Australian supermarkets is still up in the air. But if a major supermarket brand such as Tesco can make the effort to change their system for the good of the consumer why is it taking so long for the voluntary system to be implemented in Australia?
In Australian supermarkets food labels often show the percentage of the recommended daily intake a product contains for different ingredients such as sugar, salt and fat. Research undertaken by CHOICE, Obesity Policy Coalition, Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Excercise, The Public Health Advocacy Institute of Western Australia and the Cancer Council showed that these labels are not always understood by consumers, and are sometimes completely ignored.
Criticism of the current labelling includes confusion over the serving size of a product – as currently every product may have a different measurement of a serve- and the calculations needed to work out how much of something you were actually consuming were too complex for the everyday person doing their grocery shopping.
CHOICE has proposed that a traffic light system would be based on how much sugar, fat or salt is contained in 100g or 100ml of the product making it consistent between products and more easily interpreted.
The Australian Foods and Grocery Council oppose traffic light labeling. They argue that the proposed traffic light system – which only takes into account fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt – may show items such as cheese and other dairy products as bad when really they are essential for development and health. Manufacturers have also raised concerns about the cost of redesigning packaging to incorporate such labeling.
So far the Australian Government’s view appears to be that despite the extensive research in the UK, Australia and elsewhere there is not enough evidence to show a new system would give consumers the information needed to make informed choices.
It’s telling that Tesco, an industry giant has made the change to provide better information to consumers about what they are putting into their bodies. The next step surely is for an Australian industry leader or maybe an international supermarket chain such as Aldi to step up and take action whilst the Government debates whether to go through the amber light at this political intersection.