Clarity rules the GDA day

Good news for advocates of clearer on-pack nutrition information. Two significant European studies back guideline daily amounts (GDAs) as the best way of improving consumers' food literacy.

First, the European Food Safety Authority has publicly backed the reference values that underpin GDAs. Such heavyweight support confirms what we have been saying all along: namely that GDAs are rooted in sound science. Meanwhile, the first results of a major research project being supported by the European Commission demonstrated that GDA labelling is not only widespread in the UK but is also present in all other EU Member States and Turkey. Our experiences in the UK are clearly encouraging other countries to introduce GDA information on packs.

Nearer to home, of course, you will be aware that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published its own research, which shows that UK consumers understand on-pack labelling and find it valuable in helping them make better-informed food choices.

The FSA is preparing to incorporate these findings into a consultation with stakeholders and hopes to issue new advice on front-of-pack labelling to ministers by the end of the year. But it is only one study among many.

While it is legitimate to debate our next steps in the UK, industry's voluntary GDA approach is driving the debate across Europe, where new labelling legislation is being negotiated.

Europe has the power to regulate labelling. And a clear regulatory framework will govern on-pack nutrition information. Clearly, any policy decisions in the UK cannot be made in isolation from Brussels - something the Conservative Party has recognised in its labelling policy. Trying to force industry to change labels before the new EU legislation has been agreed would be an unnecessary burden for manufacturers and retailers - and a costly mistake.

Julian Hunt director of communications at the Food and Drink Federation​