It follows recent research which revealed that 46% of shoppers feel “nutritional labels are too difficult to read,” and that 45% “would like to learn more to help them make healthier food choices.”
To help companies tackle the main areas of confusion and better relay information, including guideline daily amounts, calories, portion size information and interpreting the colour coding, IGD worked alongside nutritionists, marketing experts, behaviour change specialists and shopper focus groups to create the “simple messages and images.”
Joanne Denney-Finch, IGD chief executive, explained: “We worked with shoppers to understand the challenges they have when reading nutritional labels and our research shows there is more to be done to help people use this information.
“The messages in the guide have been designed by shoppers for shoppers, and so we’re confident our guide will help clarify some of the points of confusion.
Public Health England chief executive, Duncan Selbie, added: “Better nutritional information is a foundation of healthier food and drink choices. It’s great to see so many household names sign up to the IGD guide and commit to providing clear and consistent information to consumers. I hope it encourages others to follow suit."
Caterers Compass, Brakes, Premier Foods, Nestlé UK as well as a number of supermarkets are said to have “already committed to spreading the messages in the guide,” which is available to download for free here.
Denney-Finch concluded: “We (IGD) are extremely grateful for the support from industry and others that has helped us get this far. We now need to translate that support into the widest possible action and I encourage more organisations to help spread the messages.
“Any organisation that communicates about health can adopt these messages. With more organisations involved, we can reach a critical mass, whereby people regularly see clear and consistent messages about front-of-pack labelling, driving awareness and helping them to make healthier choices.”