A decision not to force firms to reveal certain types of information on food packaging is a negative step for consumers, it has been claimed.
Earlier this month (March 10th), the Food Standards Agency announced that businesses are to be "encouraged" to adopt the traffic light system on nutrition, but not forced.
Under the traffic light system, the amount of fat, saturated fat and number of calories is indicated by green, red or yellow, to help customers make informed decisions about their food.
However, the decision to make the labelling optional has concerned the National Heart Forum.
Chief executive of the group Paul Lincoln said that there is a need for one kind of food labelling scheme "that's universally recognised within any of the retailers so it doesn't confuse the public, and one that works for all social and ethnic groups – and [the traffic system] is the one that research shows clearly does".
