The multiple ‘traffic light’ labels: are they a promising alternative for packaged foods and beverages sold in Turkey

Abstract

Food labeling is a suggested approach to guiding consumers to make healthy food choices by providing clear information at the point of purchase. The objective of this study was to examine how the multiple traffic light labels (MTL) scheme would look like if implemented in addition to evaluating the suitability of packaged products according to MTL in Turkey. Three supermarkets were chosen for this study. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Of the 2,969 food products analyzed, 49.57% of the products were found ‘unhealthy’ (total score ≥7). Packaged foods that were classified as ‘Green’ (Low) traffic light were found 31.7% for total fat, 40.7% for saturated fat, 47.5% for sugar, and 45.1% for salt, whereas these percentages for packaged beverages were 91.1%, 84.2%, 17.4%, and 97.6%, respectively. 30.7% of packaged foods for total fat, 17.2% for saturated fat, 19.7% for sugar and 31.2% for salt were classified as ‘Amber’ (Medium). Packaged foods classified as ‘Red’ (High) traffic light were found 37.6% for total fat, 42.1% for saturated fat, 32.8% for sugar, and 23.7% for salt. There were very few packaged beverages that were classified as ‘Red’. The groups with the most ‘Red’ products were oil, fat, nuts, and olive group for total fat; sugars, sweets and other desserts group for saturated fat and total sugar; sauces, ready-to-consume seasonings, and broths group for total salt. A color-coded traffic light labeling seems to be an alternative for implementation across the packaged food supply in Turkey to support consumers to make healthy food choices.