FSA moves front-of-pack nutritional labelling forward

The Food Standards Agency has set up an independent Project Management Panel to take forward an evaluation of the impact of front-of pack nutritional labelling on shopping behaviour.

The scope of the evaluation and the membership of the panel has been agreed by the Nutrition Strategy Steering Group (NSSG) - jointly chaired by public health minister, Caroline Flint and the FSA's chair Deirdre Hutton.

The study will be managed by a small group of independent experts in nutritional and social sciences, including market research. The panel will be chaired by Sue Duncan, head of Government Social Science Research Unit. Chair of the Project Management Panel,

Duncan said: "The outcomes of the project we are specifying will potentially have wide ranging impact - including producers, retailers and consumers - and I am looking forward to being involved in such a high profile piece of work."

Hutton said the debate was now about which system works best for consumers, rather than whether there should be a system.

Public health minister Caroline Flint said: "When people are doing their food shopping in busy supermarkets, they do not want to be confronted with information that is difficult to understand about the best and most healthy foods to buy for themselves and their families. They want to make the right choices.

"This evaluation is an important step forward in looking at the different approaches currently in the market place to see which has the greatest impact in helping consumers choose healthier products."

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