Front of pack labelling
Front-of-pack nutrition labelling shows what's in the box or packet of food. The universal label is colour coded red, amber and green and also highlights ‘percentage reference intakes’ (formerly known as guideline daily amounts) to show how much fat, saturated fat, salts, sugars and energy is in a food product
What the different colours show
Red means the food or drink is high in a particular nutrient that you should try to cut down on, eat less often or in small amounts.
Amber means medium. If a food contains mostly amber you can eat it most of the time.
Green means low. The more green lights a label displays the healthier the food choice.
But with Front of Pack labelling you just need to go for as many greens as you can and avoid choosing too many reds. That way you'll know you'll be making a healthier choice.
Choosing a healthy diet
If you want to choose a healthy diet, you should:
- base your meals on starchy foods such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice
- eat lots of fruit and vegetables, at least five portions of various fruit and vegetables every day
- have some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, pulses, milk and dairy foods
- keep foods (and drinks) high in fat, especially saturated fat, sugars or salt to a minimum
Using front-of-pack labelling
You can use front-of-pack labelling to identify healthy food and drink, by choosing many greens and avoiding too many reds.
Front-of-pack labelling can help you:
- choose between food and drink products
- check the amount of foods high in fat, sugars and salt that you are eating
Some products may contain lots of sugars but can be healthier choices if they contain lots of fruit. Read the ingredients list, the higher fruit is on the list, the more fruit there is.