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GDA Labels: Leading the debate on nutrition labelling

As the voice of the UK's largest manufacturing sector, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has a passionate belief that the best outcomes for society will be delivered when industry and policy makers work together in a genuine partnership to make food safer, healthier and more environmentally sustainable.

Our members have shown real leadership in recent years in supporting key areas of public policy. But it is arguably our groundbreaking work in the area of health and wellbeing where we have been making the biggest difference to the lives of consumers – whether through our reformulation efforts, the development of 'better for you' products or the introduction of clearer on-pack nutritional information.

FDF and its members published a health and wellbeing action plan way back in 2004 – an early sign of the positive role our industry could play in helping society tackle complex challenges such as growing rates of obesity. This plan included a public commitment to provide clearer nutrition labelling on food and drink packs, as we recognised this would be a powerful tool for helping consumers make better informed choices and improving their overall food literacy.

Five years ago, there was little nutritional information carried on the front of most food and drink products sold in the UK. Today, that has all changed – thanks to the enormous commitment shown by manufacturers and retailers who have voluntarily incorporated this information on their packs. In fact, GDA labelling is by far the most popular scheme in use in the UK.

This voluntary industry scheme has been adopted by more than 90 manufacturers, retailers and caterers and we estimate that more than 20,000 products carry this information on the front of their packs.

Why front-of-pack labelling based on GDAs?

Well, it's our belief that labelling should not dictate food choices from on high. Rather, it should be both objective – allowing consumers to interpret it in relation to their own requirements – and consistent with the concept of encouraging consumers to achieve a balanced diet within the context of their personal lifestyle.

GDA information has been appearing on the back of food and drink packs in the UK for more than a decade – so it always made sense for us to take that information and put it on the front. More important, the scheme is built on strong scientific foundations – the reference values we use have recently been endorsed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Unlike other labelling systems, such as those based on traffic lights, we believe that GDAs are an objective way of providing nutritional information and helping consumers construct a healthy, balanced diet through developing their nutritional knowledge. When consumers make informed choices for themselves, through higher levels of food literacy, we believe they are more likely to stick with those good habits, rather than when someone 'tells' them to make such choices.

This is particularly true when it comes to society's concerns about growing levels of obesity across Europe – where the provision of clear on-pack information about calories, on a per portion basis, will clearly be one important tool for policy makers looking for solutions to this complex issue.

FDF and its members are proud of the fact that the UK's pioneering work to develop labelling based on GDAs is now being taken up by manufacturers, retailers and caterers right across Europe.

The DVD supplied with this report details our approach since 2006 and explains how UK manufacturers communicated GDA labelling to consumers via a £4m education campaign that independent evaluation shows helped to raise awareness, understanding and usage of the information being provided on packs.

Challenges remain – not least in encouraging more consumers to make use of the information now available on food and drink packs. But our experiences show how voluntary action undertaken by industry can make a real difference for consumers – boosting their food literacy and helping them to make better-informed choices.

More information

• For more information visit the GDA Label website
• A brief history of GDA labelling
• Does front-of-pack nutrition labelling work?
• Know what's going inside you
• Why not colour code?

Download the full PDF report: GDA Labels: Improving the food literacy of consumers - pdf | 375kb