Front-of-pack labelling of food products: international practices and perspectives

Abstract

Introduction. A prerequisite for the deve­lopment of the food market is to provide con­sumers with accessible and necessary informa­tion about properties of food products. Food products labeling on the front of the package is aimed at facilitating consumers’ understanding of information about their usefulness. Problem. A wide range of symbols, schemes and formats have been developed which would provide information about the properties of food products to the consumer in the most convenient and accessible form. However, it is important to analyze the existing options and the effecti­veness of this method of informing consumers about the usefulness of food products. The aim of the work is to analyze different approaches to food products labeling on the front of the package in terms of their informativeness and usefulness for consumers. Methods. The methods of comparative ana­lysis and synthesis, selection and generalization, legislative and regulatory documents were used. Results. Many front-of-pack labeling sys­tems are known today, including Multiple Traffic Lights, Reference Intakes, Health Star Rating system, Nutri-Score, etc. Each of these systems has its own peculiarities regarding the content and way of presenting information about the components of the product, in terms of their use­fulness for the human body and the presence / absence of components that may have a negative impact on health. However, the current labeling systems make it possible to compare food products without taking into account other aspects of health im­pact (degree of processing, added additives that make them unhealthy), which does not allow to provide a complete profile of the health benefits of the food product. Conclusions. The analysis of different front-of-pack nutrition labels systems proved that thanks to such information, consumers have the opportunity to choose more healthy food products. The adoption and implementation of a single label on the front of the package can be useful for consumers and reduce the number of cases associated with the negative impact of food products on health.