Several major UK charities have written to the Health Secretary calling for clearer food labelling.
Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation, the Children’s Food Campaign and the consumer organisation Which? have written to Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley calling for clear and easy-to-understand food labels to allow people to tell quickly and easily what’s in the food they’re buying.
The organisations have come together, ahead of an EU vote on 5 July, to urge that UK representatives call strongly for mandatory front-of-pack (FOP) labelling which includes information on energy, fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt.
Stella Valerkou, Diabetes UK Senior Policy Officer, explained: "Nutrition labelling helps people to understand the nutritional content of the food they are buying, and can empower them to make healthier food choices, helping to prevent Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
“Independent research shows that consumers value information about these nutrients on front of the pack, and information about all five is already displayed widely in the UK. Clear mandatory FOP food labelling is an important part of creating an environment which helps make healthy choices, easy choices."