Labels unveiled in war on nation's junk diet

A range of proposed "traffic lighting" schemes due to become standard on all food packaging by 2006 was unveiled today.

Five options have been drawn up by the Government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) to help buyers choose healthier food.

After further research, one will be chosen to become the national benchmark by next summer, with the scheme coming into effect in just over a year's time.

The FSA also revealed results of focus group testing which showed a huge preference for the simplest of the proposed "signposts".

The five options selected by the FSA were:

? A simple red-amber-green traffic light categorising the food as something that should be eaten regularly, in moderation or rarely.

? A more complex traffic light scheme with five categories, including red/amber and amber/green as well as the three basic colours.

? A healthy-eating logo for food classified as good for you, such as fruit and vegetables and low-fat ready meals. This scheme is already in place in Finland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.

? A "multiple traffic light" scheme where each of four key nutrients - fats, salts, sugars and saturated animal fats - are graded red, amber or green.

? A figure showing the level of fats, sugars, salts and saturated fats in each portion of the food compared with recommended daily amounts for men and women.

The FSA research showed that the simple traffic light and multiple traffic light options were preferred because they were easy to understand at a glance.

The two preferred formats will be subjected to further consumer tests before a final selection.

FSA nutrition chief Rosemary Hignett said there was "very, very strong support for front-of-pack information so busy shoppers can see at a glance the truth about the content of a product".

She added: "The simple traffic light was very strongly liked, easy to grasp, clear and consumers could see how they would use it in their shopping." The multiple traffic light was supported because "people like the fact that it was explicit so that, if something was high in salt but low in fat, it actually told you clearly".

The scheme comes a week after the Government published its public health White Paper, warning of the grave dangers of too much junk food and not enough exercise.

Any "signpost" scheme would be voluntary but the FSA hopes to persuade all retailers to adopt it to make it standard.

Major supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's are already experimenting with their own versions.

The British Retail Consortium has branded a simple traffic light system "crude" because it could put people off healthy foods that are high in fat, such as avocados.