Tesco Agrees To Adopt Traffic Light Food Labelling System
Tesco has become the latest food retailer to adopt the traffic light labelling system, which is designed to inform people of the nutritional value of the foods they are eating.
The traffic light code is already used by other major supermarkets and food retailers and experts are hoping to bring in a universal “hybrid” system, which could come into play as early as next year.
Campaigners have been fighting for Tesco and Morrison’s to join the system to make nutritional information more readily available and this latest step marks a major step forward; Asda, Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer have been using a version of the system for many years.
The news comes in light of alarming statistics related to diabetes and preventable illnesses such as decay and gum disease. The traffic light system uses green to signal healthy foods and red to show that foods contain high levels of sugar, salt and fat; the aim is to educate people about nutrition so that they can make well-informed decisions about the foods they buy. Nutrition and public health experts are eager for people to learn about diet in order to reduce the risk of serious illnesses; poor diet is linked to a host of conditions, including oral health problems, diabetes, heart disease, strokes and cancer.
The Department of Health is set to reveal plans for a common, universal labelling system, which will be adopted by a number of retailers, including Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Aldi, Lidl and Marks and Spencer.
Maura Gillespie, from the British Heart Foundation, said that the charity has been calling for a traffic light system for more than 5 years and news of a new hybrid system is very positive.
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