Portion sizes for packaged foods is the food industry’s focus as anti obesity strategies are looking to help people rebalance people’s energy intake and expenditure. Some nutritional labelling schemes, such as guidance daily amounts (GDAs) are based on portion size.
The decision was endorsed by the ESA board, said Dr Sabine Seggelke, public affairs & policy director for the association, following a period of multi-stakeholder consultation.
“As portions are a key determinant of consumers’ intake of calories and other nutrients we take stakeholders’ concerns about portion sizes seriously. Providing nutrition information on a per portion basis empowers consumers to choose a healthy, balanced diet,” she maintains.
And Seggelke said that a per portion basis of 30 g for snacks is grounded in robust scientific evidence, and takes into account societal trends in public health.
According to the ESA public affairs spokesperson, there has been a lack of consistency snack portion size throughout the bloc, making it difficult for consumers easily understand data on nutritional benefits per portion.
Despite the slight increase in weight, the portion is still in line with dietary recommendations for a snack in between meals of 28-39 g per day, continued Seggelke.
She said that all ESA members have pledged to phase in the new packaging sizes over the coming months. “The switch, of course, could not be implemented across all ranges immediately as this would result in a significant amount of packaging waste, an outcome beneficial to no one. Instead, manufacturers, when releasing new snack lines, will do so in 30g portions.”
Read the full story at: http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Snack-sizes-set-to-go-standard-across-EU-bloc?utm_source=RSS_text_news
Source and thanks to www.foodnavigator.com.
