§ Mr. ShersbyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to provide 491W consumers with suitable information to assist them in using the nutrition information provided voluntarily by manufacturers on food labels designed to enable individuals to achieve a balanced diet.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe major step we have taken in this area is the issue of voluntary nutrition labelling guidelines to encourage manufacturers and retailers providing nutrition information to do so in a standard format. This will enable consumers to compare foods more easily and to make healthy choices. We fully recognise the need to provide consumers with educational material to help them obtain maximum benefit from nutrition labelling. We have a very successful free booklet "Look at the Label" on understanding food labels and this is currently being updated to take account of the advent of nutrition labelling. Another valuable guide is our "Manual of Nutrition". The Health Education Authority has produced material on diet and health and there are numerous books by private authors available to the general public. A wide range of useful nutrition information is also produced by food manufacturers and retailers.