Traffic Light Program |
Tuesday, 04 May 2010 03:03 |
By Adi Narayan Sunday, May. 02, 2010 Home What It Is: Originally developed by Britain's Food Standards Agency, the system aims to communicate important information to shoppers at a glance. Color-coded traffic light labels — red (high), amber (medium) and green (low) — indicate levels of calories, sugars, fats and sodium in a food. Pros: Because the government is behind the system, the program is less likely to be influenced by industry. Research has shown that British consumers use the system actively. The FDA is now studying consumer response to a similar program in the U.S. Cons: Critics say it's too complicated, and doesn't reach out to consumers with low education levels. The food industry has proposed a simpler system that appears more likely to gain acceptance in the rest of Europe.
Pros: The format is identical across products, so consumers don't have to deal with a number of different systems. In addition to listing the actual amount of nutrients contained in grams or milligrams, the label also shows the percentage of daily nutrients a person gets from each serving. Cons: The label is not detailed enough. For instance, it fails to show how much sugar is natural and how much is added artificially. Also, all nutrients (good and bad) are presented in equal fonts, which is not as helpful as it could be. But the FDA is working on an updated Nutrition Facts panel, which would be more readable and brought in line with current public-health concerns. "The Nutrition Facts label was originally addressed to reduce incidence of heart disease. It was not designed to address the problem of obesity," says Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs at the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The CSPI recommends the following changes to the Nutrition Facts label: source: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1986269_1986240_1986229,00.html |