Understanding food labellingDo you know what you’re eating?

Labelling isn't clear enough to understand which ingredients and nutrients products contain

The weekly grocery shop can be stressful enough without having to worry about what you’re putting in your basket.

But we believe that food labelling still isn’t clear enough, making it difficult to easily spot which ingredients and nutrients some products contain.

Unproven health claims

Perhaps even worse, some companies have been getting away with making unproven claims about their food products. Our research has shown that 99% of consumers want health claims proved before the products reach the shelves, but until recently, no such compulsory approval system existed, making it hard for consumers to make an informed choice.

It has been perfectly legal for a manufacturer like Masterfoods to claim that its Milky Way chocolate spread is ‘rich in calcium, magnesium and vitamins’, but keep quiet about the high levels of sugar and saturated fat in the same product.

When the new rules come in, companies won't be able to make claims that ‘unhealthy’ foods are good for you.

To find out more about the claims of diet and weight loss products, see our guide to slimming pills and diet foods.

The battle of the labels

But as consumers, we’ve got some big guns on our side, too. More and more of us – led by organisations such as Which? and other interest groups – are pushing for better labelling systems so that you will know what you're eating. Here’s an overview of some of them.

The traffic light system

We believe this labelling system – based on red, amber and green labels for healthy, average and unhealthy foods – is the best for consumers. It’s quick and easy to use, and you don't need to spend hours in supermarket aisles adding up lists of nutrients from tiny labels.

Ingredients and allergen labelling

Pre-packaged foods must have full ingredients and allergen labelling. We still want this to become a legal requirement for alcoholic drinks.

GM labelling

Thanks to a campaign led by Which? since 2004 all products with genetically modified ingredients or derivatives (for example, soya oil) must be clearly labelled. Even products that don't contain GM but have had GM products involved in the process must be labelled.

Meat labelling

Simplified meat labels could make it harder to know what you're buying.

Meat products that look like cuts, slices and joints of meat must clearly state if ingredients like water, starch or protein have been added to bulk them up.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been is looking at simplifying meat labelling which could threaten this system.

We want to make sure that in simplifying regulation doesn't end up undermining consumer protection.

‘Low fat’ and ‘light’

New rules have made food labels clearer, by restricting misleading health claims.

Amongst other benefits, this means that:

• All foods that make a new health claim now have to be checked before they go on sale.
• New health claims aren't allowed on unhealthy foods.
• Nutrition claims such as 'low fat' or 'light' have been clearly defined, so that they mean the same thing wherever they are used.
• Foods that are high in more than one unhealthy ingredient – for example, fat, sugar or salt – aren’t allowed to make a nutrition claim. So a food product cannot claim to be low in salt if it is high in both fat and sugar.
• Foods that make a nutrition claim –for example, that they are low in salt – have to make it clear on the same label if it is also high in fat or sugar, for example.

Want to know more about how good 'healthy' ranges really are for you? See our guide to slimming pills and diet foods.