# Traffic Light Food Labels The UK Nutritional Labelling System Makes Unhealthy Choices Clearer By Meghan Young | Published 2013-06-21 | Lifestyle Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/uk-nutritional-labelling-system References: [psfk](http://www.psfk.com/2013/06/traffic-light-nutrition-labels.html) & [gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/final-design-of-consistent-nutritional-labelling-system-given-green-light) The UK Nutritional Labelling System is making shopping for healthy foods much more transparent. Using a sort of traffic light line of thinking, it incorporates the familiar colors of red, amber and green to highlight the good and bad qualities in food items. For instance, a box of cereal that is low in fats will be green in that category but high in sugars will be red. Since salt may reside somewhere in between, it will be labeled with amber. A clever and intuitive approach, the UK Nutritional Labelling System was launched this week by Public Health Minister Anna Soubry. Companies such as [PepsiCo](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/walkers-snacks), [Nestlé](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/accessible-qr-codes) and [Mars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/starburst-fruit-squares) have agreed to use it as well as all the major UK retailers. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.3/10 - Popularity: 28% | Activity: 2% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Lifestyle](https://www.trendhunter.com/lifestyle) > [Health](https://www.trendhunter.com/health) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Transparent Nutritional Labeling:** Creating a system that uses familiar colors to clearly communicate the nutritional value of food items. - **Traffic Light Line of Thinking:** Adopting a traffic light-inspired approach to highlight the good and bad qualities of food products. - **Incorporating Health Categorization:** Designing a labeling system that categorizes food items into green, amber, and red to indicate their healthiness. ### Where This Applies - **Food Retail:** Opportunity to implement transparent nutritional labeling in grocery stores and supermarkets. - **Food Manufacturing:** Potential to incorporate the traffic light line of thinking in the labeling of food products during manufacturing. - **Health and Wellness:** Chance to utilize the health categorization system to promote healthier eating habits and educate consumers. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Accessible Health-Focused Packaging](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nutrition-information-label.md) - [Better-For-You Grocer Product Logos](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/aldi-live-healthy.md) - [Obesity-Tackling Government Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/government-app.md) - [Healthy Habit Food Packaging](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lidl-packaging.md) - [Thoughtful Packaging Redesigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/thoughtful-packaging.md) - [Nutrition-Focused Cereal Branding](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cheerios-range.md) - [Branded Fiber Meal Initiatives](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/aldi-high-in-fiber.md) - [Color-Changing Food Labels](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/freshtag.md) - [Digital Food Labels](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nutrislice-spotlight.md)