Keep the Labels Simple, Stupid
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
Providing simple nutritional information is not a simple matter. Consensus has evolved in Britain and Europe over the past few years that a uniform labeling system should be introduced but it has not resulted in agreement on the form that system should take.
Suggestions on placing information front or back of pack, or both, using color codes, pie charts, tick boxes, percentages, portion or pack sizes were floated. Formats currently in use in British supermarkets include Traffic Lights, Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) and a Wheel of Health.
Unilever added its own study results to the discussion in January. A random combination of three out of six nutrition labeling formats were shown to 1,630 participants who were asked to rate them according to comprehension, likeability and credibility as well as "the impact of the formats on perceived healthiness of the products", reported Food & Drink Europe. Follow-on research compared product choices with "behavioral intention measures" among 776 Italian and British participants looking at four label formats.
According to Food & Drink Europe, Unilever found that healthy choices were made more quickly with simpler, front-of-pack formats than more detailed GDA panels. The conclusion was that "simple labels, supported by a back-of pack nutritional information fact box and endorsement from a health organization, could have 'a substantial positive impact on public health' while a multitude of different labeling formats was confusing and decreased their effectiveness, meaning that 'The current challenge is therefore to come up with a harmonized European or even global front-of-pack labeling format across all foods.'"
Also in January, the UK's Food Standards Agency announced that it was evaluating the conflicting schemes used by retailers and reiterated its preference for a consistent but voluntary scheme. At the very end of the month the European Commission announced a set of compulsory standards to be imposed on all its 27 member states.
Although good intentions are generally accepted, accusations about which combination of information and presentation best serves the public are heated, to say the least. The results until now have been a chorus of disagreement about the best way forward on all points except the need for simplicity, which is about the only thing on which everyone appears to agree - so long as it isn't oversimplification, as EU health commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, said traffic lights might be.
Discussion questions: What do you see as the best way of providing nutritional information on packaging? Do you think front-of-pack information would be a good solution for U.S. consumers? Would you expect product manufacturers to support such a requirement?