an international food quiz, which is designed by consumers international ci, highlighted the advantages of consistent and clear nutrition labelling on the front side of food packaging. this quiz has also found that less than 50 percent of the participating consumers could judge intensities of sugar, fat and salt in packaged food without a detectable label. with a label printed on the front side, this number more than doubled to 90 percent of customers correctly judging the packet&39s contents. in the past ten years, around the world, sales of packaged foods have increased by 92 percent, touching the level of 2.2 trillion usd in 2012. in simple words, it means, for busy consumers, who want to select a healthy diet, the information offered on food packaging is a key. consumers from nine nations across asia, europe, americas and africa, were shown famous prepackaged local foods without and with simple colourcoded &39traffic light&39 nutrition labels. they were also asked to guess whether the foods were low, medium or high in salt, fats and sugar, and to select the healthiest option from a series of similar brands. with the incorporation of a frontofpack nutrition label, the number of customers making correct estimates doubled. high levels of sugar, salt and fat in the diet are becoming a reason of the rapid universal increase in diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. these &39noncommunicable diseases&39 kill above 36 million people every year. justin macmullan, who is the head of advocacy at consumers international, mentioned his views on the findings justine said that, for the first time in history, diseases that are related top lifestyle are killing more people worldwide as compared to infectious diseases. the money required treating diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease is huge, yet they are largely preventable by minimizing risk factors such as an unhealthy intake of food. to make sure that there is consistent, clear nutrition labelling on the front side of food packaging is just one method that governments can take preventative, cost effective action to help consumers make healthy decisions and avoid less healthy choices. ci coordinated this quiz with its member organisations as a unique way to demonstrate the challenges that customers face while selecting a healthy diet. ci is at the world health assembly based at geneva and is requesting to world health organisation who member states to implement the draft who global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 201320204, as well as to implement the dietrelated suggestions and take further actions to support consumers selecting a healthy diet. httpwww.scoop.co.nzstorieswo1305s00574consumersinthedarkabouthiddendangerso…
