AS food and dietary matters continue to be a hot topic amongst many of us today, the powers that be governed with advising and directing the eating habits of the country have continued to uphold the idea that we need more education and information about our very own food and drink consumption.
THE Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII), the IBEC group that represents the food and drink sector, have always pushed their major communication campaigns aimed at helping consumers make more informed food choices.
As some consumers have found food labels confusing in the past, the food industry developed an ‘at a glance’ system called the GDA (Guideline Daily Amount) guide to help consumers balance their daily diets.
It is a guide to how much energy (calories) and key nutrients (sugars, fat, saturates and salt) the average healthy person needs to have a balanced diet.
Several of the top food and drink companies have invested €400,000 to promote the GDA guide and explain to consumers how to use it effectively. The ongoing campaign includes radio, press and on-line advertisements.
A consumer website (www.gdaguide.ie) continues to support the campaign, along with a comprehensive information booklet, which consumers can order by visiting www.fdii.ie/gda.
The food and drink industry in Ireland believes that if consumers are to make informed product decisions, they need clear and meaningful nutrition information. GDA labels can now be found on the majority of branded food and drink products and on a large volume of supermarket ‘own-label’ products. The group has given consumers the means to make better food choices through the new product labels – our information campaign will help people use those tools to the best possible effect.
For more information, consumers can log onto www.gdaguide.ie or visit www.fdii.ie/gda to register for a free copy of the handy information booklet, GDAs – the facts.
