"traffic light" news and stories

I've never been very good at making cocktails where you have to pour in the ingredients in a certain way to create a layered effect. But the colors on this one, if you can do it right, make the drink seem rather intoxicating (no pun intended).

It's the Traffic Light, a red, yellow, and green concoction that has a few variations. This one comes from In The Spirit and involves a shot glass (the pic above is a slightly different version, from B52s). You need a half shot of of Midori, a half shot of Disaronno Amaretto, and a shot of De Kuyper Cranberry Liqueur. You pour each one (in the order you see) over the back of a spoon, being carefully to layer them in the glass. The site categorizes this drink as "hard."

Needless to say, just because this drink has the name Traffic Light doesn't mean you can drive after drinking it.

The "traffic-light" nutrition labels unveiled by the British Food Standards agency may not be popular with the food manufacturers and supermarkets, who are uncomfortable with the black and white (or red, yellow/orange and green) separation of "good" and "bad" foods, but consumers love them. The labeling system uses the three traffic light colors to distinguish between high, medium and low levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in food. The labels are very simple in design and it is easy to tell at a glance what the nutritional profile of a food is.

Out of all the supporters the system, parents are some of the biggest fans. Almost 80% of all parents would prefer if food manufacturers used the "traffic light" labels. They take very little time to read and, unlike the more detailed labels that use the Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) system, no "real world" translation of the information presented is necessary. On top of that, even small children can get the hang of the color-coded system very quickly, which helps to teach them about nutrition, as well as to make taking them along to the store much easier.

Source

The traffic light labeling system, which clearly indicates whether foods have high, low or medium levels of fats, sugar and salt, has enjoyed good success with consumers in England and is even being adopted in other parts of the world. Some supermarkets have expressed displeasure over the system, but now five major food manufacturers are launching their own campaign to try to bring it down.

Kellogg's, Danone, Kraft, Nestlé and Pepsico say that they are being made scapegoats for the UK's obesity problems. The traffic light system essentially tells consumers that "This food is bad!" according to the companies. Working together, they have come up with a new labeling system that will get information about the nutritional value of a product across to consumers without turning them off the food entirely. The system will have a "guideline daily allowance" (GDA) of sugar, fat and salt is contained in a product, meaning that there will be a percentage on the label and no foods will seem forbidden to buyers.

Critics of the GDA plan say that percentages are too confusing for the average consumer and that they need the black and white (or red and green) of the traffic system to help them make food choices. A trial run should help determine wither the GDA will catch on.

Source

After its launch at the end of last year in the UK, the voluntary traffic light labeling system seemed to be a success. The labels use an easy-to-read, color-coded system to indicate that a product has a high, low or medium level of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt. The premise behind the label is that it eliminates the time and hassle of label-reading, not to mention the stigma of "diet" foods, or being on a diet, which is a concern to some. Consumers learn that greens are good for everyday and the reds are fine once in a while.

Now, Australia is probably going to give the labels a go. They are hoping that, just like in Britain, consumers will opt for healthier foods over less healthy choices with more regularity. Surveys show that 9 out of 10 consumer find the system clear and easy to use, enabling 97% of consumers to make the better nutritional choice when comparing foods with the labels.

In the meantime, the British government is considering making the labeling system mandatory in the hopes of helping consumers further. Could the US be the next country to try the system?

Source

The UK's consumer watchdog, Which?, has asked for an end to consumer confusion over the differing labeling methods used on food. Many retailers and consumers rejected the Food Standards Agency's traffic light system and introduced their own.

By rejecting the FSA's guidelines they are just confusing consumers who want to be able to make healthy food choices. Despite its detractors they report that the traffic Light system is the easiest to understand. Their latest survey found that 97% of the 636 people they asked understood the FSA system with its red, green and amber warnings on levels of sugar, fat and salt.

But just 37% understood Tesco's labeling which uses Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA's) of salt, sugar and fat as a daily percentage. I haven't heard of GDA's before (and don't shop in Tesco) but apparently you need some prior GDA knowledge to understand it. "Clearly they [companies not using the FSA system] feel from a marketing perspective the GDA approach shows their products in a better light," said Sue Davies of Which?

"But we are still hoping that food manufacturers and retailers who are not using this will accept the evidence and change their approach.

"Ultimately if they can't come up with a decent system we would be pushing for legislation in this. This is not just based on research but also on EU and FSA guidelines."