Consumers and nutrition labelling L. Insall, Food and Drink Federation, London 6.1 Introduction: the problem of providing nutrition information Developments in nutrition research and improved scientific understanding of the relationship between diet and health have led to increasing interest in the nutri- tional aspects of the food supply. This interest is shared by academics, health professionals, government officials, consumers and the food and supplement industries alike, although not always for the same reasons and generally at dif- ferent levels of knowledge and understanding. Interest in nutrition, in respect of both total diet and individual foods, is second only to concern about food safety and is sometimes confused with the safety aspects of the food supply. Pick up any newspaper or general magazine in the UK and you will almost certainly find several column inches devoted to some aspect of food, either as the latest'scare or controversial issue or as a feature about the most recent fashionable food trend or restaurant or celebrity chef. However, despite extensive media coverage and take-up of food issues and master classes in cookery, knowledge and under standing about food -how to prepare and cook it, and what constitutes a healthy, balanced diet- remain poor, particularly in the younger generations and lower socio-economic groups. The nutritional content of the diet is blamed for a wide range of health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, i.e. long-term chronic diseases as opposed to the type of short-term acute illnesses that are usually associated with food safety problems Improving the overall diet in the Uk with a view to reducing the incidence and severity of certain diet-related chronic diseases has been a major plank in UK government health strategy for several years and now involves several key departments: Education and Employment (DfEE), Health(DH), and the Food6 Consumers and nutrition labelling L. Insall, Food and Drink Federation, London 6.1 Introduction: the problem of providing nutrition information Developments in nutrition research and improved scientific understanding of the relationship between diet and health have led to increasing interest in the nutri￾tional aspects of the food supply. This interest is shared by academics, health professionals, government officials, consumers and the food and supplement industries alike, although not always for the same reasons and generally at dif￾ferent levels of knowledge and understanding. Interest in nutrition, in respect of both total diet and individual foods, is second only to concern about food safety and is sometimes confused with the safety aspects of the food supply. Pick up any newspaper or general magazine in the UK and you will almost certainly find several column inches devoted to some aspect of food, either as the latest ‘scare’ or controversial issue, or as a feature about the most recent fashionable food trend or restaurant or celebrity chef. However, despite extensive media coverage and take-up of food issues and master classes in cookery, knowledge and under￾standing about food – how to prepare and cook it, and what constitutes a healthy, balanced diet – remain poor, particularly in the younger generations and lower socio-economic groups. The nutritional content of the diet is blamed for a wide range of health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, i.e. long-term chronic diseases as opposed to the type of short-term acute illnesses that are usually associated with food safety problems. Improving the overall diet in the UK with a view to reducing the incidence and severity of certain diet-related chronic diseases has been a major plank in UK government health strategy for several years and now involves several key departments: Education and Employment (DfEE), Health (DH), and the Food