We're calling for a mandatory and consistent food labelling system to show nutrition information at a glance.

Every time a consumer goes to the supermarket they are faced with thousands of products of varying nutritional quality. They don't have time to read the nutrition information on all products. What they need is nutrition information at-a-glance.

That's where traffic-light labelling comes in. Traffic-light labels on the front of a packet show you if the food has high, medium or low amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium. So if you see a red light, you know the food is high in something you should be trying to cut down on. Green means the food is low in that nutrient, and orange somewhere in between. The more green lights the healthier the choice.

We strongly supported the introduction of Nutrition Information Panels (NIPs). But while they're an important tool, some consumers find this information confusing and difficult to interpret. An easier system is needed to support the NIP so that consumers can quickly compare products that may appear identical or tout persuasive health or nutrition claims.

That's why in March we sent a submission to the New Zealand Food Safety Authority supporting mandatory traffic-light labelling on food products.

Research commissioned by consumer organisations in Australia and the UK suggests that traffic-light labelling is the best way of helping consumers make healthier food choices.

What we want:

• Traffic-light labelling on total fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium (the nutrients of greatest public health significance) to be included on the front of all food labels.
• The information to be based on the levels of key nutrients in 100g or 100ml of the product so serving sizes can't be manipulated.
• A mandatory and consistent system. Having different voluntary systems will confuse consumers rather than help them.

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