Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in light of recent research by University College London, to ensure that ultra-processed foods, particularly meat-alternative products, are (1) clearly labelled, and (2) not categorised in the green ‘healthy’ category of the traffic-light food labelling system.

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food. Prepacked food has to show: (1) a list of ingredients; (2) the net quantity of the food; (3) the quantity of certain ingredients used; (4) ingredients causing allergies or intolerances; (5) a best before or use by date; (6) any special storage conditions and/or conditions of use; (7) country of origin where required; (8) origin of the primary ingredient (where required); (9) instructions for use where necessary and (10) other labelling as required.

In addition, the name of the food (or of any ingredients) should be accompanied by details of the physical condition of the food or the specific treatment which it has undergone (for example, powdered, refrozen, freeze-dried, quick-frozen, concentrated, smoked) in all cases where omission could mislead the purchaser. This means that consumers are able to examine the label on any food and determine whether it meets their particular requirements.

While nutrition labelling is mandatory on most prepacked food, front of pack 'traffic light' nutrition labelling remains voluntary, and it is for the individual business to decide on which foods the information will be most useful to consumers. Manufacturers and retailers are encouraged to provide front of pack nutrition labelling on as many of their products as possible where the information is meaningful for consumers. Research has shown that consumers expect to find front of pack nutrition labelling on pre-prepared convenience foods, ready meals and other processed products.

The Department of Health and Social Care published guidance in 2013 on applying voluntary front of pack nutrition labelling. The traffic light score for each product is set against thresholds for ‘green’, ‘amber’ and ‘red’, and should be applied on an individual basis relating to the nutritional content and are used to represent whether a product is ‘high’ (red), ‘medium’ (amber) or ‘low’ (green) in specific, individual nutrients (total fat, saturated fat, total sugars and salt). The guidance can be found here and attached.