Substantive content of FOP nutrition labelling regulation
| Label, Jurisdiction (Year Endorsed) | Regulatory objectives | Display specifications | Nutrients/Food components included | Nutrient scoring mechanism | Reference amount used | Criteria validated | Scope | Specified exclusions | Policy coherence |
| Nordic Keyhole Sweden (1989); Denmark And Norway (2009), Lithuania (2013) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Exact colour, clearance around label, separation from other claims | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar, fibre, wholegrain, artificial sweeteners | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL, per serve, % energy | Construct validity; peer-reviewed | Packaged foods and drinks, unpackaged fresh foods, restaurant meals | Non-basic foods, for example, snacks | Education campaign, integration into school curricula |
| High Salt Warning Label Finland (1993) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Main panel not specified | Sodium | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g | Limited categories of high salt foods, (including unpackaged) | N/A | Education campaign, part of major heart health programme with public institution partners/media | |
| Protective Food Logo Slovenia (1993) | Inform consumers | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, added sugar, fibre, energy | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks, restaurant meals | ||||
| Healthier Choice Symbol Singapore (1998) | Inform consumers | Size, clearance around label, separation from other claims, written government endorsement | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar, fibre, calcium, artificial sweeteners | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL, per serve | Predictive validity | Packaged foods and drinks, unpackaged fresh foods, restaurant meals | Education campaign, can be used in advertising with approval | |
| HeartSymbol Finland (2000) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Sodium, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, added sugar, fibre, energy | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL | Construct validity | Packaged foods and drinks, restaurant meals | Education campaign | ||
| HeartTick Nigeria (2005) | Inform consumers | Sodium, total fat, trans fat, added sugar, fibre | Thresholds, multiple category | Packaged foods and drinks | |||||
| Traffic Light System UK (2006) | Inform consumers, Incentivise reformulation | Legibility, colour, contrast and delineation | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar, energy | Thresholds, foods and drinks | Per 100 g/100 mL, per serve | Packaged foods and drinks | Foods exempt from mandatory nutrition labelling in EU law | ||
| Choices Programme Poland (2008), Czech Republic (2011) | Inform consumers | Colour (different colours used for basic and non-basic foods) | Sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, added sugar, fibre, energy, artificial sweeteners | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL, per serve, % energy | Multiple construct/ predictive validity peer-review | Packaged foods and drinks, unpackaged fresh foods | ||
| Guideline Daily Amount Thailand (2011) | Written direction: ‘should consume in small amounts and exercise for better health’ | Sodium, total fat, total sugar, energy | N/A | Per serve | N/A | Limited categories | N/A | Education campaign (consumer facing and food manufacturers) | |
| Traffic Light Labels South Korea (2011) | Inform consumers | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar, caffeine | Per serve | Limited categories of children’s snack | N/A | Education campaign, part of regulated school zones restricting sales and advertising of unhealthy products | |||
| Reference Intakes European Union (2011) | Inform consumers | Size, legibility | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar, energy | N/A | Per serve | N/A | Packaged foods and drinks | ||
| Guideline Daily Amount Malaysia (2012) | Inform consumers | Size, monochrome colours | Energy | N/A | Per serve | N/A | Packaged foods and drinks | Special purpose foods, infant formula | Education campaign |
| Guideline Daily Amount Philippines (2013) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Size, contrast, placement (lower right hand portion) | Energy | N/A | Per serve | N/A | Packaged foods and drinks | Education campaign (industry led) | |
| Traffic Light Labels Ecuador (2014) | Inform consumers | Size, not compulsory principal panel | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks | ‘Traditional’ (unprocessed) foods, for example, fruit, meat, milk; foods without nutritive value | Education campaign | ||
| Guideline Daily Amount Mexico (2014) | Inform consumers | Size | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar, energy | N/A | Per serve | N/A | Packaged foods and drinks | Herbs and spices, vinegar, foods with less than 1% daily amounts or bulk sale products | |
| Nutrio-Sello Mexico (2014) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Size, colour | Sodium, saturated fat, total sugar, energy | Per Serve | Packaged foods and drinks | ||||
| Health Star Rating System Australia (2014), New Zealand (2014) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Five design variants permitted, colour not specified provided sufficient contrast | Sodium, saturated fat, total sugar, protein, fibre, fruit vegetable nut legume, energy | Overall algorithm, operating in six broad categories | Per 100 g/100 mL | Construct validity; peer-reviewed | Packaged foods and drinks | Foods without nutrient declaration, infant formula, formulated supplementary sports foods, foods for special dietary uses, alcohol | Education campaign, aims to align with dietary guidelines, nutrition claims legislation, nutrient reference values, some link to public procurement |
| Stop Sign Labels Chile (2015) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Font, size, removal of proximal marketing tools (eg, cartoons), small packs can display on side, written government endorsement | sodium, saturated fat, total sugar, energy | Thresholds, foods and drinks | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks | Products with no added sugars, sodium or saturated fat, bulk foods, infant formula, baby food unless has added sugar, foods for special uses, supplements, some sports foods, table-top sugar substitutes | Education campaign Implementing law integrates with advertising restrictions, school food procurement | |
| Traffic Light Labels Iran (2015) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Sodium, total fat, trans fat, total sugar, energy | Thresholds, foods and drinks | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks | ||||
| Weqaya Logo United Arab Emirates (2015) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, trans fat, total sugar, fibre, wholegrain, artificial sweeteners | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL, Per Serve | Packaged foods and drinks, restaurant meals | Deep fried foods | Link to hospital retail procurement, food outlet menu labelling, part of broader Weqaya NCD reduction programme | ||
| Healthy Living Guarantee Croatia (2015) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Written government endorsement | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, fibre, wholegrain, added aromas and preservatives | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks, unpackaged fresh foods | One of five components of Healthy Living National Programme | ||
| Traffic Light Labels Sri Lanka (2016 drinks, 2019 food) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Size, colour, multiple languages, main panel | Sodium, total fat, total sugar | Thresholds, foods and drinks | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks | Primary agricultural products, spices, foods for special dietary uses, bulk packs, infant formula | Education campaign, part of National Multisectoral Action Plan on NCDs | |
| Healthier Choices Logo Thailand (2016) | Inform consumers | Size, separation from other statements, contrast | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar, fibre, calcium, protein | Hybrid: overall algorithm broad categories and thresholds, multiple categories | Per 100 g/100 mL | Limited categories of food and drink | Infant formula, special purpose foods, supplements, alcohol, medical foods, water | Education campaign | |
| Red Warning Labels Israel (2017) | Principal panel (small pack exception), ‘conspicuous manner’, size, colour | Sodium, saturated fat, total sugar | Thresholds, foods and drinks | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks | Water, tea, coffee, yeast, infant formula, alcohol, special purpose foods | Part of national development strategy | ||
| Green Signpost Israel (2017) | Inform consumers | Sodium, saturated fat, total sugar, fibre | Thresholds, multiple categories | Not yet outlined | Products with artificial sweeteners; products that carry red warning labels | Part of national development strategy | |||
| Stop Sign Labels Peru (2017) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Size, front panel, placement (top right corner), written government endorsement and directions ‘avoid excessive consumption’ | Sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, total sugar | Thresholds, foods and drinks | Per 100 g/100 mL | Packaged foods and drinks | Stop signs must also appear in advertisements, linked to school food procurement | ||
| Nutri-Score France (2017), Spain (2018), Belgium (2019) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Colour, size, placement (lower left hand corner) | Sodium, saturated fat, total sugar, protein, fibre, fruit vegetable nut legume, energy | Overall algorithm, operating in three broad categories | Per 100 g/100 mL | Multiple construct and predictive, peer-reviewed | Packaged foods and drinks | Infant formula, aromatic herbs, teas, coffees, yeasts, alcohol | Part of National Nutrition Health Programme, use will be mandatory in advertisements |
| Healthier Choice Logo Malaysia (2017) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Max and min size, colour, separation from brand name, paired with energy icon | Sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, added sugar, fibre, wholegrain, calcium | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL, per serve, % wholegrain | Packaged foods and drinks | Education campaign, integrated into school curriculum, part of National Action Plan for Nutrition | ||
| Healthier Choice Symbol Brunei (2017) | Inform consumers | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, trans fat, total sugar, added sugar, fibre, wholegrain, energy, cholesterol | Thresholds, multiple category | Per 100 g/100 mL, % energy, % composition | Packaged foods and drinks | Education campaign | |||
| Stop Sign Labels Uruguay (2018) | Inform consumers, incentivise reformulation | Size, main panel, cannot be covered by other elements, placement ‘preferably at top’ | Sodium, saturated fat, total fat, total sugar (NB fat not counted if from nuts and seeds, sugar does not count if lactose or naturally present in fruit and vegetables) | Thresholds, foods and drinks | Per 100 g/100 mLrecent rapid uptake of label | Packaged foods and drinks | Foods with no added sugars, fats and sodium; foods for medicinal purposes, supplements, infant formula and baby food, sweeteners | Linked to school curricula, linked to public procurement | |
| Good Food Logo Zambia (2018) | Anticipated to cover nutrients relevant to NCDs and micronutrient deficiencies | Education campaign |
Notes: Blank cells indicate no relevant information was identified; N/A indicates metric not applicable for example, non-interpretive labels do not employ nutrient criteria.
FOP, front-of-pack; NCD, non-communicable disease.