Written question asked by Patsy Calton (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 14 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 November 2003. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 November 2003 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to ensure that recommended daily amounts for nutrients are carried on food labels.

Answer: Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to ensure that recommended daily amounts for nutrients are carried on food labels. [139481] Miss Melanie Johnson: There is no legislative requirement for guideline daily amounts of nutrients to be included on food labels. However, the Food Standards Agency recommends that this information should be given and a number of food manufacturers already include such information on their products. In the next few months, the European Commission is expected to make a proposal to amend the current nutrition labelling directive. The Government are pressing for mandatory nutrition labelling on all foods, and for the labelling to indicate whether the product is high, medium or low in key nutrients, that is fat, sugar and salt.

Secondary information