Green light from Greens for traffic light food labelling

A new system of food labelling being proposed by Sanitarium today would help consumers work out which foods were healthy and which were not, Green Party food spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.

Sanitarium has released a proposal for a new ‘Healthy Food’ labelling system which would enable consumers to identify the saturated fat, fibre, and added sugar content of food, as well as healthy ingredients such as wholegrain, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

Their proposed food labelling system would be combined with messages about which foods should be eaten regularly and which should not, and a traffic light colour coding.

“Consumers want to be able to see at a glance whether foods they are about to purchase are healthy or unhealthy,” said Ms Kedgley.

“Traffic light labelling has proven popular with consumers in the United Kingdom, and we need a similar system in New Zealand.”

The Sanitarium proposal is a response to a recommendation, by a recent review of Australia and New Zealand’s food labelling laws, that a ‘traffic light labelling’ system should be introduced to help consumers make healthy food choices.

“If we are serious about improving the quality of food New Zealanders eat, and the health of all New Zealanders, we urgently need such a system,” said Ms Kedgley.

“Poor diet contributes to about 11,000 deaths each year and is a huge burden on the public health system.”

Ms Kedgley said she was calling on the Government to support a healthy food labelling system, and will advocate for its adoption by Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

“I am worried that our Government, rather than supporting schemes like this, seems to be actively opposing better food labelling.”