Nutrition labelling study to assess shoppers' views
Monday 9 July 2007
A major step forward has been taken in developing a study to find out what shoppers think of front-of-pack nutrition labelling, including traffic light colours, guideline daily amounts (GDAs) and colour-coded GDAs.
The independent Project Management Panel (PMP) that is managing the research, has now produced a specification for the study. This is intended to ensure a robust and comprehensive piece of work that will provide results that Government and the food industry can sign up to.
This study, which will be commissioned by the Food Standards Agency and has the support of the Nutrition Strategy Steering Group, will independently assess the impact of front-of-pack nutrition labelling on shopping behaviour.
Industry and consumer groups are working with the Agency to learn together what works best for consumers. The PMP was set up to manage the project and to ensure this important piece of research is robust and independent.
The PMP has now finalised a shortlist of companies that will be invited to tender for the work, and one will be chosen to carry out the research.
The independent research will look at shoppers’ understanding and use of front of pack nutrition labels. Traffic lights, monochrome Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) and traffic light colour-coded GDAs will be studied to see if they contribute to healthier choices being made and, if so, which elements of the schemes are best encouraging these.
Specific objectives of the study
The research will aim to determine:
- whether individual front of pack approaches enable consumers to correctly interpret levels of key nutrients
- how consumers use front of pack labels in the retail environment and at home
Nutrition Strategy Steering Group
The Nutrition Strategy Steering Group (NSSG), which was established by the Food Standards Agency, is jointly chaired by FSA Chair Deirdre Hutton and Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo.
By bringing together key representatives from industry, consumer and health groups, the NSSG will help drive forward health improvement through diet and nutrition policies including those set out in the Choosing Health white paper.
Find out more by reading the press release, which includes links to the tender specification documents and other useful background information.