Food traffic light

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Example of a traffic light sign

The food traffic light is a traffic light label on food packaging that is intended to indicate the content of health-relevant nutrients such as fats , saturated fatty acids , sugar and salt in an easily understandable way .

principle

The content of fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar and salt is shown. The labeling is done on the one hand in the colors green for a low, yellow for a medium and red for a high content. The values ​​are also quantified. Since more than three characters are shown, it is a multiple traffic light . It should be clearly visible on the front of the packaging. The values ​​in the following tables show the joint recommendations of the UK Department of Health and Food Standards Agency. They relate to 100 grams (g) or 100 milliliters (ml) of a product.

Criteria for the multiple traffic lights for food per 100 g
ingredient Green (low salary) Yellow (medium salary) Red (high content)
fat less than 3 g between 3 g and 17.5 g more than 17.5 g
saturated fat less than 1.5 g between 1.5 g and 5 g more than 5 g
sugar less than 5 g between 5 g and 22.5 g more than 22.5 g
salt less than 0.3 g between 0.3 g and 1.5 g more than 1.5 g
Criteria for the multiple traffic light for drinks per 100 ml
ingredient Green (low salary) Yellow (medium salary) Red (high content)
fat less than 1.5 g between 1.5 g and 8.75 g more than 8.75 g
saturated fat less than 0.75 g between 0.75 g and 2.5 g more than 2.5 g
sugar less than 2.5 g between 2.5 g and 11.25 g more than 11.25 g
salt less than 0.3 g between 0.3 g and 1.5 g more than 1.5 g

Since most products only indicate the sodium content, the salt content can be determined according to the FSA by multiplying the sodium content by 2.5. The salt content is given as 0 g if the sodium content is less than 0.03 g for 100 g or 100 ml. If the content of fat or saturated fatty acids is below 0.1 g for 100 g or 100 ml, the content is also given as 0 g. In the case of milk product / yoghurt drinks, the criteria of the food are used as a basis for the classification of the nutritional value.

background

In order to counteract malnutrition in the population, parties and institutions within various European countries demanded easy-to-understand labeling of food packaging. This should enable the consumer to recognize before purchasing whether the product exceeds certain limits of nutrient content and thus contributes to an unhealthy diet.

The so-called “traffic light” was introduced for this purpose. First used in Great Britain in 2004 by the FSA, it marks the content of various nutrients with the familiar colors of a traffic light. For example, if a product contains an above-average amount of sugar, the term sugar has a red background. The colors yellow and green are used accordingly.

Resonance and effects

scientific publications

Modified traffic light labeling using the example of a whole grain pizza Margherita

According to several reviews, there is a lack of research into how food labels are commonly used by consumers in everyday shopping situations. A study from the UK found no measurable changes in the effect of the traffic light on food consumption four weeks after the introduction of the traffic light and recommended further studies to gain knowledge about the traffic light effect due to the small amount of food examined.

Physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital marked the food in the local cafeteria with red, yellow and green according to health. Half a year later, it became clear that customers were choosing dishes marked with “green” significantly more often and that this habit continued.

Scientists from the Leibniz Institute IAMO and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg proposed improved traffic light labeling that, in addition to potentially undesirable ingredients (saturated fats, sugar, salt), also potentially desired ingredients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.) in food considered. In addition, the modified traffic light labeling provides for further color nuances, which enable a more specific evaluation of the traffic light colors.

Other positions

Food economy

After the introduction of the traffic light system was discussed in Germany, the food industry, among others, criticized the system. It cannot replace a list of the nutrients it contains. The Federation for Food Law and Food Science e. V. (BLL) - an association of the food industry - raises a number of points of criticism of the traffic light system. The criteria for classifying the traffic light are not comprehensible to the consumer and cannot be scientifically justified. Furthermore, the different needs of people (e.g. age-dependent) for nutrients cannot be taken into account. The association is also questioning the implementation in Great Britain.

Reasons for the rejection of the industry are seen in individual media reports, in part, in feared sales losses in high-calorie products.

politics

The Committee on Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the German Bundestag came to the conclusion that traffic light labeling is more preferable to better information and education on healthy eating.

Consumer organizations

A consumer survey by the British consumer organization Which? in the summer of 2006 showed that, compared to other forms of labeling, over 90% of those surveyed rated the traffic light as easy and quick to understand. The set goal was thus achieved. During the period of use, it was found that the consumption behavior of consumers and sometimes also the formulations of the manufacturers changed.

The consumer protection organization Foodwatch believes that the true nutritional content of the products would be more obscured than made transparent with the help of the GDA labeling that was previously printed on. According to a study by Foodwatch, the traffic light labeling enables a much easier assessment than the GDA labeling. When comparing similar products, significantly more study participants were able to identify products with a higher physiological calorific value using traffic light labeling than using conventional labeling. It was also criticized that opponents of the food traffic light refer to studies that were carried out or financed by the food industry and the results of which therefore do not correspond to the truth. According to another survey that was commissioned by Foodwatch and carried out by Emnid in July 2009 , more than two thirds of German citizens are in favor of the new system.

Other interest groups

In August 2009 the statutory health insurance companies called on the federal government and the European politicians responsible for health, nutrition and consumer protection to campaign for the labeling of food using the traffic light system. In the open letter they wrote, among other things: "The lack of transparency about the composition of a constantly growing range of foods and the misleading advertising promises made by the manufacturers counteract our commitment to a healthy lifestyle."

In March 2010, representatives of the German professional association of paediatricians and the association of European paediatricians called for the introduction of the traffic light system. Among other things, they wrote to the members of the EU Parliament: "We urgently ask you not only to support the interests of the food industry."

Situations in individual countries

European Union

According to a legal opinion carried out on behalf of Foodwatch , the model for nutrition labeling proposed by the European Commission means that no EU country can prescribe the traffic light model.

France

Great Britain

The traffic light has been tested in Great Britain since 2006. Since not all manufacturers participate in labeling, statements about success or failure are sometimes questioned.

In a study by the British initiative "Action on Sugar" published in February 2016, 98% of 131 flavored hot beverages examined contained an amount of sugar that would have resulted in a red indicator for the high sugar content. The highest measured value was equal to three times the recommended daily amount of sugar for an adult: 99 grams (about 25 teaspoons) of sugar are in - from "Hot Mulled Fruit Grape with chai, Orange and Cinnamon Venti" Starbucks included.

Germany

The introduction of the labeling of food with traffic lights was requested by the Greens in the Bundestag, but by the parliamentary groups of the CDU / CSU , SPD and FDP on March 6, 2008 in accordance with the recommendation of the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, in which those groups the majority have refused. According to a report in the Berliner Zeitung , Horst Seehofer , former Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection , planned to introduce traffic light labeling on a voluntary basis. Contrary to the original rejection, this should be done at the request of the CSU and various federal states. According to a statement by Foodwatch, more than 70% of the direct candidates for the 2009 Bundestag elections were in favor of the introduction of the food traffic light in Germany. Approx. 20% are against the traffic light model, mainly members of the CDU and FDP.

Consumer advocates and health organizations demand and support the introduction of the food traffic light and accuse the federal government of inaction. According to surveys, more than three quarters of citizens would like the federal government to support the introduction of traffic light labeling. In March 2018, Food Minister Julia Klöckner refused to support the introduction of the traffic light. According to Klöckner, simplifying traffic lights would cause “confusion” among consumers. According to the coalition agreement of the CDU-SPD government from the beginning of 2018 , a label should have been drawn up by summer 2019.

Switzerland

The introduction of the labeling of foods with traffic lights is to be dealt with by the federal councils. The discussion was postponed on March 22, 2013.

The first companies will start to mark their food products with traffic lights in 2019.

Chile

After 60% of the population in Chile were overweight, the government, against initially fierce opposition from the food industry, put binding black warning labels on the packaging of particularly salty, fatty or sugary foods. Sugar-free products are no longer allowed to be sold in schools and parents are given recommendations for the food to give to their children. For manufacturers, it led to changes in the recipe of individual products. The price of food leads, especially in low-income sections of the population, to the fact that previous purchase decisions are retained.

Similar awards

In the employee canteens of the Googleplex , the free food offerings for employees in the colors red, yellow and green based on the Harvard food pyramid are excellent in order to guide employees to healthier choices. One of the decisive factors was the demonstrable weight gain of new Google employees due to the free food offer. In addition to the usual dishes, smaller plates were also introduced. But it was only when it became known that smaller plates tempted to eat less, that the smaller plates were used more often.

Broadcast reports

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Guide to creating a front of pack (FoP) nutrition label for pre-packed products sold through retail outlets. (PDF; 2.8 MB) In: Food Standards Agency . June 2013, accessed January 27, 2015 .
  2. ↑ What is “traffic light labeling”? (PDF; 73 kB) Federal Association of Consumer Organizations , accessed on June 7, 2009 .
  3. ^ A b Christine Burggraf, Ina Volkhardt, Toni Meier: Advantages of a modified traffic light labeling for food. IAMO Policy Brief, 2016, No. 28, Halle (Saale), [1] (PDF)
  4. ↑ Klaus G. Grunert, Josephine M. Wills: A review of European research on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels . In: Journal of Public Health . Volume 15, 2007, No. 5, pp. 385-399.
  5. ↑ Gill Cowburna, Lynn Stockley: consumer understanding and use of nutrition labeling: a systematic review . Public Health Nutrition, Volume 8, 2005, pp. 21-28.
  6. ↑ G Sacks, M Rayner, B. Swinburn: Impact of front-of-pack 'traffic-light' nutrition labeling on consumer food purchases in the UK . In: Health Promotion International , Volume 4, 2009, pp. 344-52, PMID 19815614 .
  7. ↑ Sönke Gäthke : Consumer research - the food traffic light changes the buying behavior of customers in the long term . In: dradio “ Research News ”, January 7th and 11th, 2014
  8. ^ Sue McGreevey: Color-coded labels improve healthy food choices in employees from all backgrounds - Simple interventions are successful in those from all racial / ethnic groups, educational levels. Massachusetts General Hospital , Aug. 7, 2012
  9. ↑ The food industry welcomes the Bundestag's rejection of the traffic lights . Federation for Food Law and Food Science e. V.
  10. ↑ Overview of traffic lights. Federation for Food Law and Food Science e. V., 2014.
  11. ↑ Peter Nowak : European Parliament buckled in front of the industrial lobby? - Consumer advocates are disappointed by the rejection of the food traffic light by the EU Parliament . Telepolis , June 17, 2010
  12. ↑ Green - yellow - red: Stop the food traffic light! IHK-Reutlingen, accessed on June 17, 2014
  13. ↑ Decision recommendation and report of the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. (PDF; 62 kB) German Bundestag, printed matter 16/7726 from January 15, 2008
  14. ↑ Consumer advocates unmask calorie bombs . In: lifestyle.t-online.de , May 23, 2008
  15. ↑ The food traffic light suggests the industry model . In: Spiegel Online , June 15, 2009
  16. ↑ Science speaks for traffic light colors . In: foodwatch.de , September 8, 2009
  17. ↑ a b 77 percent of citizens say no to the traffic light ban . In: foodwatch.de , July 24, 2009
  18. ↑ Health insurance companies require food traffic lights . In: Spiegel Online , August 27, 2009
  19. ↑ Pediatricians mobilize against the food industry . In: Spiegel Online , March 15, 2010
  20. ↑ Consumers want food traffic lights . In: Spiegel Online , July 24, 2009
  21. ↑ actiononsugar.org February 17, 2016; accessed on March 27, 2018.
  22. ↑ Red, yellow, green: Seehofer wants to label food with color . In: Spiegel Online , May 30, 2008
  23. ↑ Majority of the Bundestag candidates for the traffic light . In: foodwatch.de , September 23, 2009
  24. ↑ Food industry wants to prevent the traffic lights . In: sonnseite.com , June 4, 2009
  25. ↑ Klöckner against traffic light labeling for food . Handelsblatt , March 26, 2018
  26. ↑ parliament.ch
  27. ↑ 20min.ch
  28. ↑ Maike Greine : Chile - The strictest food regulations , ProSieben - Galileo , episode 256, season 2018 from August 19, 2018 (YouTube)
  29. ↑ Download Deutsche Welle, accessed on December 7, 2018