Front of pack nutrition labelling (Northern Ireland)

Who will this consultation be of most interest to?
Food Business Operators, Food Trade Associations, Consumer Groups, Local Authorities and other Government Departments

What is the subject of this consultation?
Governments across the UK are seeking to bring more consistency to the use of Front of Pack (FoP) nutrition labelling with the objective of providing the best possible information to help consumers make healthier choices. This consultation details current use of FoP in the UK, highlights the new legal framework for FoP in Regulation EU 1169/2011 on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers and reviews recent research into consumer understanding and use of FoP information.

What is the purpose of this consultation?
This consultation sets out the ambitions of Governments across the UK to bring more consistency to the use of FoP nutrition labelling by working with partners to identify a joint way forward and seeks views on how this may be achieved.

The Northern Ireland Executive is ambitious in its desire for action to address diet-related public health challenges in Northern Ireland. Everyone can play a part in preventing obesity whether as individuals or as organisations, by minimising those things we do that contribute to weight gain and maximising those that help us eat fewer calories and be more active.

A Fitter Future for All, the Framework for Preventing and Addressing Overweight and Obesity in Northern Ireland, 2012-2022, published by the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety, aims to 'empower the population of Northern Ireland to make healthy choices, reduce the risk of overweight and obesity related diseases and improve health and wellbeing, by creating an environment that supports and promotes a physically active lifestyle and a healthy diet'.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for policy relating to labelling in Scotland and NI. The Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland (FSA in NI) therefore leads on the implementation of a number of outcomes within A Fitter Future for All, including taking action to ensure that pre-packed foods are labelled with simple easy to understand, front of pack (FoP) nutritional information. This is in line with the FSA’s Strategic Plan objective to provide consumers with the information and understanding they need to make informed choices about where and what they eat. In 2010, following independent consumer research and public consultation the FSA Board recommended a FoP label which included three interpretative elements.

Maximising the effectiveness of FoP labelling by building on the current high level of voluntary use across the UK is an important element in achieving this. Research indicates that consistency of expression and use across as many food products as possible would maximise the impact of FoP labelling and improve consumers’ ability to choose healthier foods .

Any future approach to achieving consistency of FoP labelling will have to take into account the new legal framework for the Provision of Food Information to Consumers as well as research into consumers’ understanding and use of FoP information.

FSA in NI is therefore seeking your views as Northern Ireland stakeholders and as part of a UK-wide consultation on Front of Pack nutrition labelling with the ultimate aim of bringing more consistency to FoP labelling information presented across the UK.

The provision of clear, consistent information to underpin informed, healthy dietary choices is a key strand in the approaches being taken by all four Governments across the UK to tackle the prevention of obesity. Your responses to the questions set out in this consultation will inform discussions on how the shared objective of increasing consumer awareness, understanding and use of FoP nutrition labelling can best be achieved.

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation, which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness we shall keep a copy of the completed consultation and responses, to be made available to the public on request. The FSA will publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name. Disclosure of any other personal data would be made only upon request for the full consultation responses. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator by email: consultationcoordinator@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk