GDA Labels Gaining Ground Throughout Europe

European food and drink producers, large and small, are actively implementing a voluntary nutrition labelling system based on Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs), new, independent research reveals.

The
representative survey of 2,026 food and drink producers—including
both multinational companies and family-owned butchers and bakers—was
conducted between last November and mid-March in France, Italy,
Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands by APCO
Insight, a specialised survey firm, and reviewed at each step by Dr.
Brian Young, a Fellow of the University of Exeter in the United
Kingdom.

“The research shows that small- and
medium-sized enterprises are following the lead of large food
companies in introducing GDA labels across a broad range of products
on a voluntary basis,” said Jean Martin, president of the
Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA). “We
have gone from having hardly any GDA labels just two years ago to
covering a significant and rapidly growing share of food and drink
products today.” Most of CIAA’s large company members plan to
include GDA labels on 100% of their products throughout Europe by the
end of 2009 and several will reach that target already by the end of
this year.

“The successful voluntary
implementation of GDAs calls into question the necessity for a
European law mandating such labelling,” Mr. Martin added.
“Voluntary initiatives can be more effective than legislation at
delivering benefits to consumers quickly.”

Companies are also responding to
consumer demands for greater choice in nutrition and portion sizes.
Some 43% of respondents have reduced the amount of saturated fat,
salt or sugars in their current products or have introduced new
products with less of these ingredients in them since January 2004.
Separate surveys of CIAA members have found that the vast majority
has reformulated products in similar ways during the same period.
“There is no higher priority for European food and drink producers
than helping consumers achieve balanced diets,” said Mr. Martin.