Traffic light labelling

You're standing in a supermarket aisle looking at two similar products, trying to decide which to choose. You want to make the healthier choice but, as usual, you're in a hurry. Well, help is at hand.

A growing number of supermarkets and food manufacturers are using traffic light colours on the labels of some products to help you make your choice.

What do the traffic light colours mean?

If we want to eat a healthy diet, one of the key things we should be doing is trying to cut down on fat (especially saturated fat), salt and added sugars.

Food products with traffic light labels on the front of the pack show you at-a-glance if the food you are thinking about buying has high, medium or low amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt, helping you get a better balance.

In addition to traffic light colours you will also see the number of grams of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt in what the manufacturer or retailer suggests as a 'serving' of the food. So, if you see a red light on the front of the pack, you know the food is high in something we should be trying to cut down on. It's fine to have the food occasionally, or as a treat, but try to keep an eye on how often you choose these foods, or try eating them in smaller amounts.

If you see amber, you know the food isn't high or low in the nutrient, so this is an OK choice most of the time, but you might want to go for green for that nutrient some of the time.

Green means the food is low in that nutrient. The more green lights, the healthier the choice.

Many of the foods with traffic light colours that you see in the shops will have a mixture of red, amber and greens. So, when you're choosing between similar products, try to go for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds, if you want to make the healthier choice.

The traffic light colours will make it easier for you to compare products at-a-glance. The label also tells you how much of each nutrient is in a portion, so if two labels have similar colours you can compare these figures, and choose the one that is lower to make a healthier choice.

What do the different traffic lights look like?

Below are some examples of labels currently in stores. Click on each to see a larger image.

Although the traffic light label designs may look different, you can still compare these foods because the companies are all using the Food Standards Agency guidelines. So when, for example, you are deciding between two pizzas, check out the colours to make a healthier choice.

Asda	Avondale
Bernard Matthews	Boots
Brittania Brands	Budgens/Londis
Co-op	GNER
Korkers	Lockwoods
Marks & Spencer	Mash Direct
McCain	Moy Park
New Covent Garden	Paterson Arran
Roadchef	Sainsbury's
S&B Herba	Tasty Foods
Virgin Trains	Waitrose

When will the traffic light colours be in other supermarkets and in my local shop?

Not all supermarkets and shops use the traffic light system. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is continuing to encourage as many supermarkets, manufacturers and service providers as possible to use this approach.

If you'd like to see them in your supermarket, or on your favourite products, why not contact the supermarket or manufacturer yourself?