Introduction
1. The Consumer Council is pleased to provide views on the proposed labelling scheme on nutrition information.
2. Nowadays, consumers place greater emphasis than before on the nutritional value of their food intake as healthcare professionals are advocating a balanced diet. However, not all suppliers of prepackaged food respond in a positive way by providing enough nutrition facts for consumers. Some products come with some nutrition information but such information is not easily comprehensible or provided consistently, making it difficult if not impossible for laymen to compare the products.
3. Moreover, consumers have, from time to time, expressed concern over the claims on the nutrition labels. They doubt whether the claims are accurate and trustworthy.
Overall proposal
4. The Council welcomes the proposal for a phased mandatory nutrition labelling system for prepackaged food.
5. The Council notes in the Consultation Paper that it is proposed to establish a set of local Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs) for nutrition labelling purposes While supporting this proposal, the Council would also like to see a reference amount or serving size defined for each food type in accordance with local consumption patterns. The label should indicate the number of servings available in the package purchased by the consumer. This can help those consumers who do not have any idea what is meant by 100 g or 100 ml of a food product.
6. Appropriate tolerance limits of nutrient verification should be set for different types of nutrients. For nutrients which are considered, in general, undesirable if taken in excessive quantity, such as saturated fat, cholesterol, sugars and sodium as mentioned in paragraph 6.14, the tolerance limit should be lower.
Coverage
7. Paragraph 6.9 of the Consultation Paper indicates that "The proposed scheme does not apply to infant/follow-up formulae, foods for infants and young children, plus foods for special dietary uses......".
8. While the Codex guidelines do not cover infant/follow-up formulae, foods for infants and young children, and foods for special dietary uses, we believe that parents, guardians, baby-sitters, and healthcare workers are in desperate need for nutrition information so that they can provide diet with the most appropriate nutrient contents for infants, children and people who have a special diet need. In fact, many food products for infant and children bear nutrient content claims and nutrient function claims.
9. Therefore, this Council suggests that the scope of the proposed scheme be expanded to cover infant and baby formula and food products for people with special diet needs.
Core Nutrients
10. As energy value and some of the nine core nutrients are also required to be labelled in the countries which have already introduced nutrition labelling regulations, products from these countries and those from manufacturers exporting to these countries should encounter no problem fulfilling the requirement of the proposed labelling scheme. Some locally manufactured products also carry nutritional information, albeit not comprehensive and standardized. The time is ripe for local manufacturers to improve their labelling standard in order to maintain a competitive edge. In any event, the Council recommends that the labelling requirements be reviewed as and when necessary after the implementation of the labelling scheme.
Nutrient for which a claim is made
11. Paragraph 6.23 of the Consultation Paper states that: "...it be mandatory to declare the amount of any nutrient for which a claim is made."
12. The Council is of the view that in addition to this requirement, the amount of sugar should be specified where a carbohydrate content is claimed, and so should the amounts of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and cholesterol where fat or cholesterol content is claimed.
13. In addition, the Council suggests that the amount of trans-fat should be listed where fat content is claimed and also the amount of insoluble and soluble fibre should be listed where fibre content is claimed.
Nutrient Content Expression
14. Paragraph 6.25 of the Consultation Paper states that "..... require energy/nutrients to be expressed in absolute amount in kilocalories/metric unit per 100 g (or per 100 ml) of food. If the package contains only a single portion, energy/nutrients may be expressed in absolute amount in kilocalories/metric unit per package."
15. The Consumer Council considers it important that nutrition information is provided in a way easily comprehensible to consumers to facilitate product comparison. The Council, therefore, supports the use of 100 g and 100 ml as the base amount for listing the nutrient contents irrespective of the size of the package or the size of a single portion, which may vary between one product and another. Only those food products which have a content much less than 100 g or 100 ml should be allowed to express their nutrient contents in metric unit per package.
Presentation of Nutrient Content
16. This Council also considers it important that nutrition information is legible. While the basic format as shown in Annex V to the Consultation Paper is quite easy to read, it would be much better if a minimum font size and contrast ratio are set. The trade should also be encouraged to use accurate pictorial presentation, where space is available, to help those people who have difficulties in understanding numbers.
Nutrient Content Claim and Nutrient Comparative Claim
17. Paragraph 6.31 of the Consultation Paper states that "..... adopt the Table of Conditions for Nutrient Content Claims included in the Codex Guidelines for Use of Nutrition Claims, which covers the descriptive wordings and conditions of use for our local requirements."
18. The Council takes this to mean that the Codex guidelines will be adopted as the local legal definition of the descriptive terms used in claims such as "High", "Low", "Reduced", "More", "Less", "Free'", etc. when referring to a particular nutrient. The Council suggests that if such claims are to be used by a food product, the amount of nutrients related to such claims must be of high accuracy. It would serve consumer interests better if the values are verified by accredited laboratories with validated test methods.
Nutrient Function Claim
19. The Council believes that it is important for the nutrient function claims to have a sound scientific basis. Current scientific findings should be followed closely by the Government so that if a claim is considered inappropriate by international authorities, it will be removed immediately from food product packages as soon as possible. Furthermore, where a nutrient function claim is made, the food should constitute a significant source of the nutrient concerned.
Timeframe of Implementation
20. Paragraph 6.42 of the Consultation Paper states that "......allow a two-year grace period before implementing Phase I of the proposed labeling scheme (i.e. voluntary unless with claims). ..... Phase II (mandatory nutrition labeling) would be implemented three years after implementation of Phase I."
21. The Council urges the implementation process be expedited so that consumers do not need to wait for five to seven more years before the mandatory labelling scheme comes into effect. As mandatory nutrition labelling regulations have existed in many countries, many suppliers should have the nutrition information of their products on hand.
Consumer Education
22. This Council agrees with the proposal as set out in paragraph 5.3 of the Consultation Paper that organizing public education programmes to enable consumers to properly understand and utilise the nutrition information provided on the food labels so that they can benefit from it. For example, as the proposed scheme allows energy to be expressed in kilojoules in addition to kilocalories, consumers may be confused when they read nutrition tables which bear both units. They need guidance in understanding the correlation between the units. Further confusion exists in the units of energy values as Cal (Calories) is equivalent to kcal (kilocalories).
Consumer Confidence
23. The Council believes that, after the implementation of the proposed labelling scheme and comprehensive education programmes, consumers' confidence in the labelling of food products will be enhanced, hence the competitiveness of products marketed in Hong Kong will also be increased.
Benefit to Society
24. The Council believes that, after the implementation of the proposed labelling scheme, public health will be improved as consumers can plan a balanced diet for themselves with reference to the nutrition information on food packages. As estimated by governments of many countries who have introduced nutrition labelling schemes, the medical burden and social costs to society can be reduced significantly.
Recent Studies
25. Paragraph 4.3 of the Consultation Paper states that claims related to the levels of nutrients cannot be adequately regulated under the provisions of the existing Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations.
26. It is worth noting that this point, as well as others dealt with in the foregoing paragraphs, is in accord with the findings of a recent survey conducted by the Consumer Council.
26.1 In December 2003, the Consumer Council published the results of a market survey of nutrition labelling of 45 prepackaged food samples, including 11 bread products, 14 biscuit products, 10 cereal products and 10 milk products. Of the 45 samples, one-third (15) did not bear a nutrition information table.
26.2 Even among those with nutrition content claims on the packaging, only some indicated the amount of the relevant nutrients. For example, a biscuit sample labelled with claims of "high fibre, low fat, low calories" only stated that "each piece of biscuit contains less than 1 gram of fat". That is hardly adequate to support its claims.
26.3 Clear definitions of such superlatives as "high", "low", "more", "less", "extra", etc. are imperative. There wre many examples where products bearing apparently similar claims actually varied substantially in the amount of the nutrients. For example, two bread products both bore claims of "high fibre" but one contained 6% of the nutrient while the other 10.8%.
26.4 Many samples used different values as the base, making it extremely difficult for consumers to compare the nutrient contents. For example, four different models of biscuit samples were found to list their amount of energy and nutrient in metric unit per 15 g, 16 g, 22.3 g or 30 g of biscuit respectively.
Conclusions and Recommendations
27. The Consumer Council supports, in principle, the establishment of the proposed labelling scheme.
28. The Council suggests that the ambit of the proposed scheme be expanded, in due course, to cover infant and baby formulae and food products for people with special diet needs.
29. The nutrition information to be made available should be legible. The font size used must not be lower than a certain limit and contrast ratio must be properly set.
30. The Council supports the proposal for mandatory declaration of the amount of any nutrient for which a claim is made. The Council suggests that the amounts of nutrients related to such claims must be verified by accredited laboratories with validated test methods.
31. For nutrient function claims, the food for which the claim is made should constitute a significant source of the nutrient concerned.
32. The Council urges that the mandatory nutrition labelling scheme be implemented as soon as possible.
33. The Council will play a proactive role in organizing consumer education programmes on nutrition information.
34. The Council believes that, in the long run, the overall medical expenses and social costs to the community can be reduced as public health will be improved after the implementation of the proposed labelling scheme. The Council is not convinced by the arguments advanced by some members of the industry on the increased cost resulting to the labelling scheme. (para 24 refers). Even if this is the case, the benefit which nutrition labelling brings far exceeds the expenses, if any, incurred.
35. Nutrition labelling of food products will enhance consumer confidence (including tourists), hence the competitiveness of products marketed in Hong Kong will also be increased.
