Labels should lead the pack to healthy eating

Food and Drink Federation (FDF) president Iain Ferguson has stressed his support for a front of pack labelling scheme that changes consumer behaviour, rather than one that most appeals to shoppers.

Speaking at the FDF president’s dinner at the Waldorf Hotel, London, on May 1, Ferguson said a front of pack labelling scheme should primarily influence people to eat more healthily. He cautioned that Food Standards Agency (FSA) consumer research that is currently underway and expected to be completed early next year should bear this in mind.

The debate about Guideline Daily Amounts labelling versus a traffic light system highlighting risky levels of ingredients such as fat, sugar and salt should be balanced, rather than “a battle”, he said.“We’re keen that the FSA will be able to carry out truly independent research,” said Ferguson. “This is not about what scheme the consumer likes. It’s about what we can do to change consumer behaviour. It’s very seductive when you’re a young brand manager to look at habit and attitude research when we all know what really matters is behaviour.”

Front of pack labelling was a core part of the topic of ‘health and wellbeing’ - one of three key themes that would affect the industry in 2008-2009, he said. He acknowledged the hard work already undertaken by the industry to reformulate products. “We now look forward to working constructively with the agency on its saturated fat and energy programme - which we all recognise will be a rather more difficult issue,” he added.

The other two major themes set to dominate the industry in the coming year were the environment and food inflation, said Ferguson. On the environment, many members had already taken “bold steps” to start turning the FDF’s targets launched in its Five-Fold Environmental Ambition last October into reality.

Concerning food prices, Ferguson said: “With agricultural products increasingly all things for all men - and consumer expectations of quality food at fair prices - the squeeze is on. 2007 saw food hit the headlines with tortilla riots in Mexico and pasta strikes in Italy, and more recently there has been rioting in Cameroon and Haiti.”

Ferguson again called for a balanced debate about the potential of genetically modified (GM) crops to help supply the world with sufficient affordable food. “It is through the pursuit of science that we will find new, alternative crops or increase yields to meet future demand.

“As a nation, we have to face up to the issue of genetic modification and as an industry we have to rise to the challenge of helping to foster a fair and scientific debate on an issue that has typically been clouded by suspicion and lack of trust.

“We need to work together through the supply chain - government, farmers, food processors and retailers - to overcome this challenge and, most of all, to give consumers a reason to trust us and open up the debate.”

However, responding to his comments after the event, some processors have expressed misgivings. “This seemed like a policy statement on the part of the FDF to support GM food, couched in terms of ‘we need a debate’,” said one processor.