Front-of-Pack 
    Food Labelling
    Traffi c light labelling gets the green light
                                    
                                        Acknowledgements
                                        Thank you to Ipsos-Eureka Social Research Institute, who 
                                        conducted the fi eld work for this research. Thank you also 
                                        to Which?, UK, who generously provided their consumer 
                                        research report to inform our study.
                                        Suggested citation 
                                        Kelly B, Hughes C, Chapman K, Louie J, Dixon H, King L
                                        On behalf of a Collaboration of Public Health and Consumer 
                                        Research Groups. Front-of-Pack Food Labelling: Traffi c Light 
                                        Labelling Gets the Green Light. Cancer Council: Sydney 2008. 
                                        Available at:
                                        http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/nutrition/foodlabellingreport
               Contents
               Key Findings                                                                                             4
               Background 5
               Study Aims                                                                                               6
               How Was the Study Conducted?                                                                             6
               The Labelling                                                                                             6
               The Products                                                                                              8
               The Survey                                                                                                9
               Key Results                                                                                             10
               One consistent front-of-pack food labelling system or multiple systems?                                  10
               Which nutrients should be included on the front-of-pack label?                                           10
               Which front-of-pack labelling system did consumers think would be the easiest to use?                    11
               Which front-of-pack labelling system could consumers actually use?                                       11
               Rating the healthiness of a single food product                                                          11
               Assessing the level of nutrients in a single food product                                                14
               Comparing the healthiness of two food products                                                           15
               Perceived speed of comparing the healthiness of food products                                            16
               Conclusions - What These Findings Mean                                                                  17
               Call to Action                                                                                          19
               Arguments For and Against Traffi c Light Food Labelling                                                 20
               Can You Pick the Healthier Food Choice?                                                                23
               References 23
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       Front-of-Pack Food Labelling Report
       Scenario                          Key Findings and 
                                         Recommendations
       As a busy mum, Sue Jones          »   Australian consumers report limited 
       rushes to the supermarket          use of nutrition information currently 
       on her way home from               presented on food packages, and 
                                          indicate strong support for nutritional 
       work to pick up some               information to be placed on the front 
       ingredients to feed her            of food packages, particularly for 
       family for dinner. As she          nutrients that should be consumed 
                                          in limited amounts, such as saturated 
       enters the supermarket             fat, sugar, total fat and sodium.
       she is faced with 
       thousands of different            »   Consumer research, presented in 
       food products, of varying          this report, shows that Traffi c Light 
       nutritional quality. She           front-of-pack food labelling, when 
                                          compared with other front-of-pack 
       doesn’t have time to look          labelling systems, is signifi cantly more 
       at the nutrition information       effective in assisting consumers to 
       panel on the back of               select healthier food products, leads to 
       food packages. What Sue            more accurate assessments of nutrient 
                                          levels, and is easier and quicker to use.
       really needs is nutrition 
       information at-a-glance to        »   Results from this study indicate that 
       help her to select healthier       Traffi c Light food labelling:
       food products quickly.             • Allows consumers to correctly identify  
                                             healthier food products
                                          • Assists consumers to make 
                                             comparisons between products easily
       The solution?                      • Allow consumers to make these 
                                             comparisons at a glance
       Traffi c Light front-of-pack 
       food labelling.                   »   To maximise the ease and accuracy 
                                          with which consumers make healthy 
                                          food choices, regulations should be 
                                          introduced to mandate Traffi c Light 
                                          front-of-pack food labelling on all 
                                          Australian food products.
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