To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the Food Standards Agency’s colour-coded food labelling recommendations on consumer behaviour. (139743)

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has made a commitment to independently evaluate front of pack nutrition signpost labelling schemes in operation in the United Kingdom and their effect on consumer behaviour and understanding. A study will be commissioned later this year to carry out a comparative evaluation of the three main front of pack labelling approaches currently in use in the UK marketplace, including the FSA’s recommended colour coded scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) food labelling expressing guideline daily amounts and (b) other food labelling differing from the Food Standards Agency’s recommendations. (139744)

The Food Standards Agency has made a commitment to independently evaluate front of pack nutrition signpost labelling schemes in operation in the United Kingdom and their effect on consumer behaviour and understanding. A study will be commissioned later this year to carry out a comparative evaluation of the three main front of pack labelling approaches currently in use in the UK marketplace.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the level of implementation of the Food Standards Agency's colour-coded food labelling recommendations. (139940)

Current adopters of the Food Standards Agency (FSA's) front of pack signpost nutrition labelling approach tell us that by the end of 2007 over 8,000 own label retailer products and 100 manufacturer product lines will carry signpost labelling based on the FSA's core principles. This includes products by Boots, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, the Co-operative Group, Virgin trains, Avondale, Britannia, The New Covent Garden Soup Company, McCain, Moypark, Bernard Matthews, S&B Herba Foods, Bombay Halwa and Budgens/Londis.

A number of additional companies are in the process of putting traffic light front of pack signpost labelling on their products, so these figures are likely to increase later in the year. A full list of those who are using the traffic light signpost can be found on the FSA's eatwell website at www.eatwell.gov.uk.