Today is World Consumer Rights Day:
Towards healthier diets: The role of nutrition labelling
By Raveen Ekanayake and Chayanka Wickramasinghe
In this article to mark World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2015 under
the theme 'Healthy Diets', Raveen Ekanayake and Chayanka Wickramasinghe
take a look at the importance of nutrition labelling to promote healthy
diets.
Unhealthy diets are linked to four of the biggest causes of deaths
worldwide: overweight and obesity, high blood pressure, high blood
glucose and high cholesterol. In 2010, it is estimated that over
11million deaths globally resulted from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
linked to unhealthy diets.
The impact of poor diets on health now exceeds that of smoking. The
effect of obesity (US$ 2 trillion per year) on global GDP is equivalent
to the cost of war, gun violence and terrorism. Increased productions of
processed food, rapid urbanisation and changing lifestyles have led to a
shift in dietary patterns.
Increasingly, people around the world are preparing less food from
raw ingredients and buying more processed, pre-packaged food. Over the
past decade or so, global sales of pre-packaged foods have increased by
92 percent, reaching US $ 2.2 trillion by 2012.
This increase in production, promotion,and consumption of processed
foods that are unhealthy - energy dense, nutrient poor and high in fat,
salt or sugar - has become a global driver of unhealthy diets in high,
middle and low-income countries.
The growing incidence of NCDs linked to unhealthy diets has gradually
led to more consumers becoming conscious of the inputs that go into the
production of the food items they consume.
Mandatory nutrition labelling
Labelling, nutrition labelling in particular, has been widely
recognised as a powerful tool in allowing consumers to quickly and
easily interpret the nutritional value of packaged foods and inform and
help them decide on their diet.
This article takes a cursory look at the importance of nutrition
labelling, the regulatory environment concerning labelling and issues
pertaining to the effective implementation of such regulations.
Consumers around the world are increasingly becoming conscious of
what goes into the food they eat. Moreover, a large number of health
conscious consumers look for key information presented on the
'Nutritional Facts' given on product labels.
For example, the amount of carbohydrates, calories, vitamins,
minerals, cholesterol, sodium are some nutritional facts at the
forefront on the minds of consumers. In some cases, consumer behavioural
patterns can be observed as a result of such labelling.
For instance, the inclusion of unhealthy ingredients on the labels
would encourage or motivate consumers to switch to alternative products
which they deem to be healthier. However, if the nutrition content of
the products is not labelled, the consumer cannot make an informed
decision. As a result, labelling offers a certain degree of minimal
protection for consumers.
Coherence in information
The current set of regulations governing food labelling in Sri Lanka,
mandates that in addition to the date of manufacture and expiry, product
labelling must clearly disclose all ingredients and permitted additives
used in the product.
However, there is no mandatory need on the disclosure of nutrition
related information. With growing health concerns due to the consumption
of unhealthy foods, from a consumers view point, it is important that
regulatory authorities implement the mandatory nutrition label on
processed and prepackaged foods for sale.
In addition, regulatory agencies must seek to ensure coherence in the
information provided in these labels. The flavour enhancer mono-sodium
glutamate commonly referred to as MSG is one such example. The
consumption of MSG is commonly linked to symptoms such as diarrhoea,
headaches and insomnia.
However, when it comes to labelling, there is no mention of MSG.
Rather it is substituted by a range of associated terms such as yeast
extract, glutamate and glutamic acid. Hence there is a tendency for
consumers to be misled by the information provided.
Due to the absence of specific mandatory guidelines governing the
type of nutrition related information included on a label, firms have
the opportunity to pick and choose nutrition related information that
best suits the marketing needs of its product and leave out essential
information that are key for consumers in making an informed decision.
Regulatory authorities must develop a set of guidelines and make it
mandatory to include key nutrition facts on the labels of food products
to ensure uniformity of information. This will also guarantee that the
consumers are not misled by the information.
Likewise, an ingredient naming convention must be set up.
For instance, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stipulates
that firms must always list the commonly used names of ingredients
unless there is a regulation that provides a different term, for
example, using the term 'sugar' instead of its scientific name
'sucrose'.
Improving nutrition knowledge
While nutritional labelling is a useful tool to highlight essential
information about the nutritional value and composition of products, the
effectiveness of such regulations in promoting healthy diets, rests
largely on how well consumers take notice of nutrition labels.
Understanding nutrition labelling is closely linked to the nutrition
knowledge of a consumer. For nutrition labelling to be effective, it is
important for consumers to have a basic understanding of nutrition,
which will aid them in choosing prepackaged food.
Studies suggest that the level of knowledge and use of food labelling
information increases with age, level of education and family income. It
is, therefore, pivotal that targeted consumer awareness programs be
implemented to boost the public's knowledge on nutrition.
In India, a number of initiatives have been organised at the
grassroots level with the involvement of the regulatory agencies,
business, local and multinationals and the NGO sector in improving
consumer knowledge on basic nutrition facts. In Sri Lanka too a leading
apparel manufacturer and a leading public school has teamed up with a
local NGO to raise awareness on nutrition knowledge among its
constituents. Encouraging such initiatives in the country will help
improve consumer knowledge on nutritional values of the food they
consume.
What can be done?
The growing incidence of NCDs associated with unhealthy diets poses a
serious public health challenge for governments across the world
including Sri Lanka. Nutrition labelling has been recognised as a key
tool in the government's arsenal in tackling the problem. Many
Governments in the developed world have recognised this and mandated
compulsory nutrition labelling on prepackaged products.
For effective implementation of such regulations, it is necessary to
set up a specific set of labelling guidelines to ensure consistency and
transparency so that consumers are not misinformed or misled by the
information given in the labels.
The regulatory authorities must work with the private sector and NGOs
to raise nutrition knowledge and awareness to promote healthy diets in
society.
Raveen Ekanayake is a Research Officer at the Institute of Policy
Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) and Chayanka Wickramasinghe is a Project
Intern at the IPS. |