The FSA's traffic light system

This is the preferred “front of pack” nutritional labelling system by the UK Government’s Food Standards Agency. In common with other nutritional labelling this is a voluntary scheme. The key information is presented in a prominent place in addition to the nutritional panel which is usually tucked away on the back or side of the pack.

Key supporters of this scheme include Sainsbury’s, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and the Co-op.

The traffic light system recommends that colour coded ratings are given for each of four food constituents; total fats, saturated fats, total sugars and salt. The value for each is coloured green, amber or red depending on how much is present in the food.

Manufacturers are allowed to include details of calories too but these should not be coloured unless they meet a separate low calorie measure for green.

Determining which colour is awarded to each nutrient is done by their content per100g and by their content per recommended portion size. Their “worse” score of these two is used to decide which colour is chosen for that nutrient.

The FSA set down some guidelines to food producers about what is a reasonable portion size so that none are tempted to make unrealistic recommended serving sizes for their products.

The sugars element aims to highlight whether a product has a lot of added sugar. So an allowance is made for foods which have high natural sugars, such a fruit juice and smoothies. The image is from a natural apple juice carton. If they do not include excessive added sugar, they will typically score amber for sugars but be allowed to add a comment explaining that it comes from natural sources.

Aside from fruit based juices you are unlikely to see the FSA’s preferred coding system on drinks. They only recommend that these front of pack labels are used on foods such as:

• sandwiches, wraps, baguettes and similar prepared foods
• breakfast cereals
• burgers, sausages, pies, pasties, quiches and pizzas
• a broad range of hot and cold ready meals and prepared foods such as salads and ready to eat pasta meals, noodles, chicken nuggets, fish in parsley sauce, microwave curries, cook in sauces and the like

The Food Standards Agency argue that a simple colour coded system makes healthy choices easier for shoppers. They don’t feel it is fair to ask everyone to think about percentages.