The red, amber and green labels warning about high levels of salt, fat, sugar and calories on food are used by some supermarkets and food companies in Britain, but only on a voluntary basis. All mandatory labelling rules are set by Brussels, and votes on whether or not to make any form of food labeling EU-universal have been taking place. 

The consumer group said it has been endorsed by consumer groups, public health organisations and doctors. Both Which?, the consumer group, as well as the Food Standards Agency and the British Heart Foundation have called for traffic light labels to be made mandatory.

MEPs have faced lobbying by sectors of the food industry which claim the system is so simplistic that products could be shunned on the basis of one "red" reading for one ingredient which overshadows more positive health ratings for other contents.

Britain's Food and Drink Federation suggested the traffic light system would create unnecessary red tape for everyone from supermarkets "to the person who sells jars of jam at a local farmers' market" and has frequently said the GDA label was better.

The leader of Britain's Labour MEPs, Glenis Willmott, said: "If we're serious about tackling heart disease and obesity, we have to help people understand how much salt, fat and sugar is in their food.

The NFU's deputy president Meurig Raymond said: “Labelling needs to provide accurate, clear and relevant information so consumers can make an informed choice. People who want to buy great British food want to be certain that is exactly what they are getting.”

If new rules are agreed upon, food producers will have three years to update their labels, and small firms with fewer than 100 employees will have five years to do so.

Source and thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk.