Can I Trust Food Traffic-Light Labels?
The short answer is yes – but it’s important to understand what they’re designed to do.
Traffic-light labels are based on government guidelines and use standard nutritional information found on food packaging. This means that manufacturers aren’t simply choosing colours they like; the ratings are calculated using defined thresholds for fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt.
However, traffic-light labels don’t tell you everything about a food.
They don’t measure vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, ingredient quality or portion sizes. They simply provide a quick snapshot of four key nutrients.
Think of traffic-light labels as a useful starting point rather than the final answer.
They can help you compare similar products, identify foods that are high in certain nutrients and make informed choices based on your own dietary requirements.
At Crafty Cook, we believe transparency is important. That’s why we want customers to understand not only the ratings on our products but also what those ratings do – and don’t – tell you.
Related Posts:
- What do Red, Amber and Green Food Labels Really Mean?
- How Does Crafty Cook Calculate Its RAG Ratings?
- Why Do Some Healthy Foods Have Red Traffic-Light Ratings?
- Why Do Traffic-Light Ratings Use Values Per 100g?
- How do we Calculate the Nutritional Values for For Crafty Cook?
