Do you find yourself randomly selecting products at the supermarket, without viewing the product information on the pack?

Often it’s a case of not having time, but more frequently, it’s due to a poor understanding of the labeling system.

At last, help is at hand! The Food Standards Agency in the UK, have launched a new labeling system, designed to help consumers make healthier food choices at the supermarket.

The idea of the new system is that consumers will be able to decide, at a glance, which products are the best option. The system uses a red, amber and green traffic-light system, to indicate whether products contain the four key nutrients (fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt) in high, medium or low levels; and it’s based on 100g of each food, and not on portion size.

Recent research has indicated that shoppers cannot interpret labeling information quickly, and often find displayed percentages difficult to understand.

2,600 shoppers where asked what kind of labeling they liked, and what they found most useful. The results were clear in identifying that traffic light colour coding was key to helping them make healthier choices at a glance.

What should you be looking out for?

• Red light – the food is high in the nutrient, and therefore you should try to eat this food as an occasional treat, or in smaller amounts.
• Amber light – this food isn’t high or low in the nutrient, and would be a reasonable choice most of the time, but you should try to choose green some of the time.
• Green light – the food is low in the nutrient. The more green lights you see on packaging, the healthier the product is.

Which stores are currently displaying this system?

You can find the traffic light colours in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, M&S and Boots, and on foods produced by McCain, the New Covent Garden Food Company and Moy Park.

A number of other retailers and manufacturers are planning to adopt the system in the coming days. The system is also supported by the British Dietetic Association, and Diabetes UK amongst others.

Manufacturers and retailers may choose to represent the traffic light colours in different ways. Take a look at the examples below:

Remember, if you’re trying to make healthier food choices, when choosing between similar products, opt for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds. Healthy eating is all about getting the overall balance of our diet right.

The future for food labeling

The Food Standards Agency would like all supermarkets and food manufacturers to use the traffic light colours. If you would like to see them being used in your local supermarket, they suggest that you contact the supermarket, or even the food manufacturer, yourself and make a specific request.

Personally, I feel that if all supermarkets and manufacturers were using the traffic light system, it would make food shopping much easier for all consumers, who are trying to choose healthier products.

What do you think of this colour coding system? Do you think it’s a good idea, or not?

For further information on reading food labels check out my previous article, The Lowdown on Food Labels.