British Food Industry Opposes Traffic Light Labelling

The United Kingdom government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) is planning to launch television advertisements explaining its traffic light labelling on food packaging. The label will display red, green or amber lights depending on the fat, salt and sugar content of the food. The introduction of the symbol is an attempt to reduce the rate of obesity. Felicity Lawrence reports in the Guardian that one agency regulator described opposition by the food industry industry to the new labelling scheme as "the most ferocious we've ever experienced". The director of communications at Kellogg's, Chris Wermann, said that "in principle we could never accept traffic light labelling." A coalition of food companies, including Kellogg's, Tesco, Danone, Unilever, Nestlé and Kraft are planning a major marketing campaign for their preferred labels which detail the percentage of "guideline daily amounts" of fat, salt and sugar in their products. The FSA is bracing itself for a legal action by the food industry.