Calls Grow for Graphic Health Warnings on Ultra-Processed Foods
Experts are increasingly advocating for stark, cigarette-style health warnings on ultra-processed foods, arguing that teh current traffic light labelling system is insufficient adn fails to adequately inform consumers about potential health risks, including hidden additives.
Professor Corvalan believes the focus should be on making healthy choices easier and less healthy ones less appealing. He contends that while labelling is one tool, it’s not a solution in itself.”There are lots of ways you can affect people’s choices. Labelling is just one. There is food marketing and advertising. I would ban advertising of HFSS foods in their entirety,” he stated. He further suggests a financial intervention: “The big thing is the price of food, which is a major determinant of food consumption patterns. So the logical thing is to tax unhealthy foods and subsidise healthy foods.”
The current traffic light system, while “consumer kind and simple,” is seen by some as inadequate. Professor corvalan advocates for a compulsory system, stating, “It is what we have got, so why not make it compulsory?” However, experience in Chile demonstrates the need for clarity. Chile, initially influenced by the UK’s traffic light system, found the combination of colours confusing for its population. “People in chile could not understand the combination of colours with the traffic light system. We needed a simpler image that would say ‘No, this is not OK’,” explained Professor Corvalan.
This led Chile to adopt a mandatory system, a contrast to the UK’s voluntary approach. Professor corvalan criticises the UK’s hesitancy, stating, “The UK has developed some of the greatest policies in these areas, but unfortunately you have never moved forward with them… I think that the food industry plays a huge role in your economy, in your policy making, and it is not allowing you to reverse this epidemic – that is very bad, because it is killing people.”
The UK Department of health and Social Care (DHSC) maintains it is indeed taking action, stating they are “bringing in a modernised food nutrient scoring system to reduce childhood obesity” as part of a 10-Year Health Plan focused on prevention. They also highlight restrictions on junk food advertising, limitations on volume price promotions, and mandatory reporting on healthy food sales.
Food manufacturers are also responding.Kellanova, owner of Kellogg’s, reports having cut sugar in Coco Pops by 50% since 2017 and displaying traffic light labelling on all packs, claiming all their children’s cereals are non-HFSS. They also point to the nutritional benefits of fortified cereals, stating they “make significant contribution to vitamin D intakes in British children.”
The Food & Drink Federation defends the current traffic light system, stating it “provides clear information on what’s a ‘high’ level for certain nutrients, such as fat, salt and sugar, as well as what’s ‘low’.”
However, the growing calls for more impactful warnings suggest a wider consensus that current measures may not be enough to combat the health consequences of ultra-processed food consumption.
