Food labelling should be more simple

August 15th, 2014

In a recent article in the International Journal on Obesity (2014) Roberto and Khandpur discuss how accurate and easy-to-understand nutrition labelling can contribute to  preventing obesity and changing poor diets. Its relevance lies in the fact that even small changes in energy or nutrient intake can lead to meaningful changes on a population level.  

While numerical nutrition labelling (nutrition panel, GDA) often appears to be too difficult, front-of-pack labelling systems seem to be especially promising because it can ‘nudge’ consumers towards more healthy choices while at the same time ‘nudge’ the food industry to reformulate their products into more healthier options. According to the researchers, data about the Choices logo in the Netherlands underpin this theory, showing that the introduction of the symbol encouraged reformulation of food products and the introduction of healthier foods and beverages.

The article concludes with a recommendation for the future of front-of-pack labelling. This future should entail uniform labelling symbols, which can offer important opportunities to educate people about the nutritional content of their food and which motivates consumers to make healthier choices. Improvement in food labels should be focused on three aspects: to better capture consumer attention, to reduce complexity and to convey numerical nutrition information in more simple and meaningful ways. It has been Choices’ main goal from the beginning to develop such an improved labeling system and put it in practice. 

Source: Roberto CA and Khandpur N (2014) Improving the design of nutrition labels to promote healthier food choices and reasonable portion sizes. International Journal of Obesity 38, S25–S33.