Food producers can find themselves confused as to the best way to apply food labels to the items they sell, especially when specific requirements are lax or or undefined. The U.K.’s government has announced that a new system involving brightly colored, easy-to-read indicators of food contents will reportedly be put into action starting next year.
These labels, which have the support of organizations like the British Heart Foundation and major companies like PepsiCo, uses a “traffic light” system to advise shoppers of the amount of different levels of ingredients like fat, sugar and salt, with red representing a level higher than the recommended amount. Grocery chains like Tesco will also be using this labeling system for their specific store brands, the BBC reports.
However, there has been some notable opposition to this measure in the form of Coca-Cola and Cadbury, two companies that have expressed preference for the previous guidelines that were used. They can do this because these label requirements are still voluntary as of now, even with so many high-profile names taking part.
Nonetheless, Anna Soubry, the country’s public health minister, described the impact this could have on making consumers healthier and encouraged companies to get involvement.
“By having all the major retailers and manufacturers signed up to the consistent label, we will all be able to see at a glance what is in our food – this is why I want to see more manufacturers signing up and using the label,” Soubry said.
Consistency is a concern that companies can apply to their own food labels, especially when considering whether or not to take part in such voluntary programs. Access to a color label printer like the Primera LX900 can help with this effort and allow companies to maintain standards similar to other participants.
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