FSA must not let food companies slip out of responsibilities, says heart charity

5 March 2010

In response to the publication of the Front of Pack nutrition labelling board paper by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Betty McBride, Policy & Communications Director at the British Heart Foundation said:

"The FSA's proposal tries to move us closer to a single front-of-pack food labelling scheme which would allow shoppers to simply see what's in the food they're buying.

"However, what's critical is we get the right scheme in place. Independent research has confirmed that traffic light colours give consumers the at-a-glance information they need to make healthier food choices.

"The FSA board must ensure that progress on implementing this scheme does not let food manufacturers slip out of their responsibility to provide simple and transparent information.

"We now need a concrete timetable to get all three aspects of the single integrated model – traffic light colours, guideline daily amounts and the words high, medium and low – on UK supermarket shelves."