Traffic light labelling

The easy-to-follow front of pack format allows customers to see the nutritional content of products at a glance, with a majority of Waitrose customers using the information to help them make healthier choices.

How to use traffic light labelling

We all know we should be reducing our fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar intakes. Traffic light labelling shows at a glance whether the product you have chosen contains a high, medium or low amount of the nutrients we are trying to reduce in our diets.

For example if you choose a ready meal that is high (red label) in saturated fat on one day you may wish to choose a ready meal which is low or medium (green or amber label) in saturated fat on subsequent days in order to balance your intake over the week. Many food will have a mixture of red, amber and green - try to go for more greens and ambers and less reds for a healthier diet.

What else does the traffic light label tell me?

The amount of fat, saturates, salt and sugars, per portion or per pack, also appear on the traffic light label. Calories appear too, although these are not colour coded and are not part of the FSA's scheme.

High, medium or low?

Traffic lights are allocated according to criteria set by the Food Standards Agency.

Per 100g criteria defined by Food Standards Agency

	LOW Per 100g	MEDIUM Per 100g	HIGH Per 100g	HIGH Per Portion
Fat	3g or less	3.0 - 20g	more than 20g	more than 21g
Saturates	1.5g or less	1.5 - 5g	more than 5g	more than 6g
Salt	0.3g or less	0.3 - 1.5g	more than 1.5g	more than 2.4g
Sugars	5g or less	5 - 15g	more than 15g	more than 18g

Consumer research carried out by the FSA, suggested that front of pack traffic light labelling should be applied to the following categories: sandwiches, ready meals, burgers, sausages, coated meat and fish products, pies, pasties, quiches and pizzas.

Waitrose currently has traffic lights on ready meals, sandwiches, pizzas, vegetable accompaniments and beefburgers and is in the process of applying this labelling to the other suggested categories.

Additional back of pack nutrition labelling on Waitrose products

Since 2005 we have highlighted the key nutrient information per portion or per pack, in a blue bar on the back of our own label products.

Per Pack

Calories	Fat	Saturates	Salt	Sugars
476	20.1g	5.1g	2.1g	9.0g

Nutrition

Typical values	per pack	per 100g
Energy	1998kj 476kcal	826kj 197kcal
Protein	24.2g	10.0g
Carbohydrate	49.6g	20.5g
of which sugars	9.0g	3.7g
Fat	20.1g	8.3g
of which saturates	5.1g	2.1g
Fibre	7.0g	2.9g
Sodium	0.85g	0.35g

In addition to the standard nutrition information, this blue bar enables you to see at a glance the amount of calories, fat, saturates, salt and sugar a pack or portion provides.

What does the guideline daily amount tell me?

Guideline daily amounts for average adults

	Women	Men
Calories	2000	2500
Fat	70g	95g
Saturates	20g	30g
Salt	6g	6g
Sugars	90g	120g

The guideline daily amount panel is also included on our products. This information is for adults and sets a guide as to the amount of calories, fat, saturates, salt and sugars that an adult may consume in a day. It is important to remember that we all have different lifestyles and therefore different nutritional requirements. For instance, someone who is physically active may require a greater intake of calories and other nutrients whereas someone who is less active, or trying to lose weight, will require less calories and other nutrients.

For more information

For more details on nutritional labelling:

• www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels
• www.nutrition.org.uk