"Traffic light labelling has failed in the UK."
The argument: In the UK, traffic light labelling has not been adopted to any significant extent, and there has been no verifiably positive experience with its use. The truth: Many food manufacturers in the UK are also resisting the use of traffic light labels. Therefore the British Food Standards Agency (FSA) has not been able to push through its recommendation for mandatory nutrition labelling with traffic light colours. In spite of this resistance, traffic light labelling is actually being used on quite a large scale.
Large retail chains like Sainsbury's are printing traffic light labels on their own brand products. There are now approx. 10,000 products being sold in the UK with traffic light labels. An FSA study has shown that labels with a combination of text and colour-coding are best understood by consumers. Consumers are using these labels and – according to sales analyses from the retail chains – are choosing healthier products more often. Moreover, many manufacturers have adapted their product formulations in order to avoid red lights. Traffic light labelling is a proven model of success – albeit with one major weakness: It has not been made mandatory. Therefore not all manufacturers and retail chains are using these labels, and a number of different label formats are being used – which does not improve consumer comprehension.
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