Irish retailers Dunes, Tesco, and Supervalu have adopted this voluntary system for their own label products, and those that have now carry GDA labelling on 95% of their range, the FDII survey said.
It is the fifth survey carried out since January 2008 and over that time GDA labelling on branded goods has risen by 26%.
The food industry has really been trying and making major progress in giving consumers the tools to make better informed choices on nutrition.
The European Commission have proposed new legislation to make GDA labelling compulsory across the EU.
It’s both an important and convenient system, and food-labelling should common among all food retailers.
Furthermore the FDII called on MEPs to reject amendments calling for nutrition labelling using colour-coding.
Mr Kelly commented: "The traffic light system of labelling is a subjective assessment of the nutrient content of 100g of a food and does not provide consumers with the information needed to choose a balanced diet based on their individual needs.”
On a cautionary note he said that the Irish food industry could be damaged if MEPs include a provision to allow individual European member states implement their own labelling rules.
"It is in the interest of Irish industry that labelling rules should be consistent across the EU and, as a significant exporter, harmonisation of legislation across a single market of 500 million consumers is key," Mr Kelly concluded.
The legislation is being debated and voted on in the European Parliament this week.
Source and thanks to www.insideireland.ie.
