A new revolutionary nutritional labelling system is changing the way Britons' shop.
The system which uses nutritional signposts was launched by Tesco just nine months ago, but is already encouraging people to choose healthier options.
Sales of healthier products since the labels were introduced indicate that customers are using the clear, front of pack, information to achieve a balanced diet.
Other manufacturers including Cadbury, Danone, Kelloggs, Nestle and PepsiCo are now following Tesco's lead and more are expected to adopt the groundbreaking scheme – providing the clearest information on the widest range of products.
This will enable even more people to make informed choices about the foods they eat.
The labels clearly show in grams the amount of salt, fat, saturated fat, sugar and calories in a serving of each product and how much of the guideline daily amount (GDA) this makes up – enabling customers to understand how individual foods fit into their diet.
Customers have told us that they find the system really helpful and informative because it gives them all the nutritional information they need. In particular they like the clear, understandable format as it enables them to make an educated decision about what foods they eat.
Earlier customer research by Tesco found that Traffic Light labelling is simplistic and could mislead customers for example; both cola and apple juice would be colour coded amber for sugar – this is likely to confuse customers who are choosing between these products.
Tesco also found that ‘Red' is taken by customers to mean stop/danger rather than warning/consider and could mean that people eliminate certain foods from their diet. Whereas by separating the key nutrients in a simple format the labels help shoppers to monitor parts of the diet that they are concerned about e.g. salt if they have high blood pressure.
Nutritional signposts also enable customers to easily stay within their recommended daily amount for the key nutrients.
Carolyn Bradley, Food Buying Director said; "Nutritional signposts provide clear and easy to understand information which is displayed in a way which gives customers the power to choose products that will help them follow a balanced diet.
"Our customers now find it easier to make healthy choices as they shop and sales of healthier products since this system was introduced show that it is working.
"And now that other manufacturers are following our lead even more people will be able to make informed choices on a wide range of products."
As part of ongoing product development Tesco is working hard to reduce levels of salt, fat and sugar in all its products.
In the last year - 100 tonnes of salt have been removed from ready meals alone.
Earlier this year Tesco also became the first supermarket to give customers a ‘Kitchen Cupboard' Guarantee' on its entire range of ready meals – which means they will only contain ingredients found in a kitchen cupboard at home.
For more information contact Nikki Martin on 01992 646040 / 07956 666499 or Tesco Press Office on 01992 644645
Notes to editors:
Tesco is committed to salt reduction and in the last year has reduced the level of salt in over 500 of its most popular, everyday product lines
Over 2000 products now carry GDA signposts and all eligible products will be labelled in this way by the end of 2007
Tesco is now delivering a major programme to help customers to understand the new system – this includes press and TV advertising
Further examples which illustrate how Traffic Light labelling could mislead customers:
Cheddar cheese would be colour coded red for fat when it is a good source of calcium
Walnuts would be colour coded red for fat when they are low in saturated fat and a good source of vitamins and minerals
Dried apricots would be colour coded red for sugar when a portion forms part of the recommended five a day – they are also a good source of beta-carotene
