24th August 2007
Food Labelling News Release

GDA food labels are 'child's play to use'
Two new surveys reveal that GDA labels are both easy to understand and influential when food shopping

More than five in every six Britons are now aware of GDA nutrition labels - according to two new surveys, the findings of which have been published today - and people are becoming both increasingly adept at understanding them, while also admitting that they are more likely to base their buying decision on GDA labels than on any other accreditation label.

The first study [1] commissioned by Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) quizzed over 1,000 secondary school-age children on their attitudes to food. In comparison with eight other labels - including those for organic, Fairtrade and Freedom foods – GDA labels topped the polls for both recognition and influence (see editors’ note). 85% named GDA labels as the most recognisable label, while 54% said they were most likely to influence their purchase decisions – in each case a lead of more than 10-percentage points over the second placed label.

The second survey [2] commissioned by The Food & Drink Federation, asked readers of Take a Break Magazine to identify and then correctly interpret sample GDA labels. Of the 4,000 respondents, 84% of readers who had heard of them, 93% found them easy to understand and 86% successfully interpreted the nutritional information on them, even when faced with a choice of incorrect answers placed alongside bone fide responses.

FACE spokesman Bill Graham said, "It would seem that understanding GDA labels is literally Childs' play for most young people. While it has become fashionable to suggest that children are disengaged with the food they eat, these findings suggest the opposite. Not only do they understand a wide range of food labelling schemes, such as Guideline Daily Amount labels, but over half use them to inform their decisions about the healthiness of food before they buy."

The editor of Take a Break, John Dale said, "There's not much that a Take A Break reader doesn't know about shopping! Personal and family nutrition are at the heart of our readers' interests today, so it is encouraging to see that our readers are clued-up, knowledgeable and engaged in understanding about what's inside the food they eat."

- Ends -

Out of office: 07747106900 (James Laird) or 07725203174 (Tracey Grannum)

Note to editors - according to FACE:

• The Top Five most recognised food labels (in order) are: 1) GDA (85%) 2) Traffic Lights (69%) 3) Fairtrade (66%) 4) British Flag (51%) and 5) Assured Food Standard (46%).
• The Top Five labels most helpful to children when choosing a product to buy are: 1) GDA (54%) 2) Fairtrade (46%) 3) Traffic Lights (43%) 4) Assured Food Standard (32%) and 5) British Flag (28%).

1 The Farming and Countryside Awareness (FACE) Child Wise research comprised a self-completion questionnaire for 1121 respondents aged 11-16 at 22 schools in November 2006
2 4,000 respondents to a questionnaire inserted in Take a Break magazine in July 2007.