Tag: Uk food labelling

According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), any food product consisting of or containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) sold in Great Britain must undergo a rigorous authorisation process. While you can find products containing GM ingredients, they are not common and are subject to mandatory labelling rules.

According to the Food Standards Agency, legislation requires nutritional information on food labels to be clear, accurate, and not misleading, yet current UK legislation permits a 20% margin of error on labelled nutrient values. This raises the question of how accurate is nutritional information in the UK and what this means for consumers tracking their intake.

While the Nutri-Score system has been adopted by several European countries, the UK does not use a Nutri-Score label on its food products. Instead, UK shoppers are accustomed to a voluntary, colour-coded "traffic light" system widely featured on front-of-pack labelling. This established system provides an alternative approach to instantly conveying a product's nutritional profile.

With two-thirds of British adults considered overweight or obese, public health is a significant concern, making clear food labelling more important than ever. The Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack nutritional label widely adopted across Europe, but what is Nutri-Score in the UK and how does it fit into the current landscape?

According to the Food Standards Agency, UK food packaging is legally required to display energy values in both kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal). This confirms that yes, the UK does use kcal, and understanding this system is key to accurately interpreting food labels, particularly for visitors or those new to tracking nutrition in the country.

According to a 2024 study, up to 35% of calorie-labelled menu items in English out-of-home eateries had a discrepancy of more than 20% compared to lab-measured values, demonstrating the challenges in assessing how accurate calories are in the UK.