Both schemes are aimed at providing at-a-glance information about a product’s fat, saturates, sugar and salt content – and both have their supporters and critics.
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The Traffic Light system
What is it?
Developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Traffic Light system provides a colour code for the fat, saturates, sugar and salt in a 100g portion. Green indicates low content; amber, medium; and red a high content. In other words, red signs on the label of your sandwich or ready meal should set off alarm bells, while green suggests you can eat with impunity.
Who supports it?
This is the Government’s recommended scheme. So far, supermarket retailers such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, M&S, ASDA and Co-op and manufacturers including New Covent Garden Food Co. and McCain have opted for the Traffic Light system. It is also favoured by most of the influential health and consumer organisations, including the National Heart Forum, the British Medical Association, the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK and the consumer group Which?
The good news
Supporters say the main advantage of the Traffic Light system is its simplicity, and there is good evidence that consumers find the system easy to use. In a recent survey of more than 17,000 people, 79 per cent said they preferred it, with many saying Traffic Lights are also useful as an aid to teach children about healthy diets. Other research shows that people aren’t interpreting a red light as ‘don’t buy’; instead, as the scheme intended, they are interpreting it as ‘don’t eat too much of it’. Some optimists even believe the scheme will encourage manufacturers to reformulate their products to bring down levels of fat, saturates, sugar and salt.
The bad news
Critics are unhappy about the labelling being based on 100g amounts of a product, since many foods, such as cereals, are eaten in much smaller amounts. There’s also concern that the colour codes fail to differentiate between ‘healthier’ products in some categories. For example, 100g butter contains 81.7g fat and 54g saturates, while low-fat spread contains 40g fat and 11.2g saturates. Critics argue that because both would receive red lights, consumers might opt for the butter, even though the low-fat spread contains half the fat and a fifth of the saturates.
Another problem is that Traffic Lights don’t distinguish between added sugars and those that occur naturally. Many fresh fruits would be labelled amber for sugars, while bananas would be coded red due to their naturally occurring sugar content. Finally, some products that receive red labels are actually a good source of other nutrients. For example, Cheddar cheese would receive red for fat, saturates and salt, but it actually contains many nutrients including vitamin A, B vitamins, calcium and zinc.
The Guideline Daily Amount system
What is it?
GDAs were developed by food manufacturers and are based on the amount of calories, fat, saturates, sugars, salt, protein, carbohydrates and fibre required for a healthy diet. These appear on packaging as a percentage of GDA that a typical serving would represent – in other words, one serving of cheesy pizza may contain half your recommended daily intake of fat.
Who supports it?
Three retailers – Tesco, Morrisons and Somerfield – and at least 21 companies, including Kellogg’s, Nestlé, Kraft, Danone, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Walkers.
The good news
Supporters say GDA labelling provides more detailed information and that the Traffic Light system is crude and simplistic. They say the GDA system is better because it is based on typical serving sizes, rather than 100g amounts.
The bad news
Critics complain that the GDA system is too complex – research shows that many people don’t understand the concept of percentages, and certainly can’t interpret them while rushing around a busy supermarket. The concept of basing GDA on typical serving sizes is also a problem, as these vary. For example, cereals may use 30g, 35g or 45g portions, which makes it difficult to compare one product with another. Critics also say it’s not clear that the GDAs for fat, saturates, sugars and salt are recommended maximums, not targets to try to reach.
So where does this leave us?
Research
shows most of us spend just four seconds deciding whether to buy a
product. So a front-of-pack labelling scheme needs to be instantly
clear to help consumers make healthier choices.
While it may seem
the Traffic Light system is the most useful to consumers, further
research needs to be done. Perhaps the solution is to follow in the
footsteps of companies such as McCain, and provide front-of-pack
labelling that combines Traffic Lights with GDAs.
Which labelling system to you think is better? Log on and have your say here.
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