Asda to Implement Traffic Light Labelling 

10/07/07 The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has welcomed the decision by Asda, one of the country’s largest food retailers, to put traffic light colour-coded nutritional information on the front of its food products.

Asda now joins the majority of major retailers and several food manufacturers in using traffic light labels to highlight the levels of sugars, fat, salt, saturated fats in their products.

The Agency recommends the use of traffic light colour coding as it is easy to understand at a glance, provides consistency for shoppers and can be tailored by retailers and manufacturers to fit their own brand identity.

Other retailers already using traffic light labelling include, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, the Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Budgens/Londis, Boots and Avondale. Manufacturers include McCain, the new Covent Garden Food Company, Britannia Foods and Moy Park.

Asda is to introduce traffic light colours combined with information on the precise amount of each nutrient in grams per serving and the percentage of the guideline daily amount this represents.

The company says traffic light colours will be displayed on over 1000 different Asda own-label products, starting in September.

Agency Chair Deirdre Hutton said the Agency was delighted to hear that Asda will be putting colour-coded nutritional information onto the front of food products. ‘It's encouraging to see that Asda's consumer research backs up our own – showing that traffic light labels are what shoppers overwhelming want and need, to help them make healthier choices at a glance.’

She said that the Agency was also calling on those food companies not using the approach to think again and consider the consumer demand and need for clear traffic light-coloured nutritional labelling.