Do you want to eat more healthily?
The Food Standards Agency has developed a traffic light label which provides you easy nutritional dietary guidelines. These guidelines help to achieve a healthy food choice.The categorization of food in different color is done on the basis of availability of its nutritional content and nutritional value.
According to the color of traffic signal color
- RED is marked as high
- Amber the middle
- GREEN is the lowest
GREEN – The lowest color in a traffic light system
As we see in a traffic signal, green is the lowest color. Here this lowest is for those food article having low fat, low saturated fat and low sugar, salts.
Every food and drink coming under category GREEN holds all healthy nutritional value. They are good sources of nutrients required by our body. They are low source of saturated fat, lower in energy (kilo joules), added sugar and/or salt, and higher in fiber.
All the foods and drinks falling in category GREEN should always be available for consumption. They should be promoted as the best choices.
The best way to implement green food selection is to make them available in every retail shops, vending machine, cafeterias and in catering. If you want to stay healthy nearly 50% of your food choice should be from category GREEN.
GREEN – Best choice food: Fiber rich breakfast cereals, skimmed milk, cheese and yogurt, Lean meat, Fish, Eggs, Plain nuts and seeds, Tofu, fruit (fresh, frozen), Vegetables, Legumes and beans, Water.
AMBER – The middle one
As the color AMBER comes in middle of the series, it means the food under this category should be consumed partially. The selection of food and drink in this category should be done very carefully and they are required to be eaten in moderation. Although AMBER items may provide some good nutrients they contain too much of energy (kilo joules), saturated fat, added sugar and/or salt.
AMBER foods and drinks can be included in your diet, but remember they should not dominate your diet. Their selection in your diet should not be over Green category.
AMBER – Best choice food: Savoury breads, crackers, whole meal muffins with added fruit and vegetables, Dried fruit, oil canned fish, Salted-fried nuts and seeds, oven baked potato products, fat milk regular, cheese, custard, yogurt, sweetened flavored milk, 99% fruit juice, Artificially sweetened drinks, aerated drinks, jellies, jams, marmalade, cream rolls.
RED – The color of danger
Red color is at top in series. The higher is the color more danger it creates. All the Foods and drinks falling under the category RED are not essential. High consumption of foods or drinks from this category they can lead to weight gain, various chronic and non-communicable diseases.
If you are making RED choices remember you are ingesting high energy (kilo joules), high saturated fats, added sugar and/or salt and a very low nutritious and fibrous diet.
The consumption of RED foods and drinks should be avoided if consumed it should be in very limited amount.
RED – The Best Choice: Sugary drinks (e.g. soft drinks, sports drinks), Confectionery products, heavy creams and Ice creams, dairy desserts, butter cookies and choco chip biscuits, cakes, pastries, saturated fats and oils (e.g. butter, cream), chips, Pies, sausage rolls, Devon, salami, strasbourg, sausages, saveloys
2 products with similar colors
In conditions, where you have 2 products with similar colors… don’t get confused.
Not just the presence, traffic light labels also provides information about the percentage quantity of the fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt in apportion. For a healthier choice, you can compare the figures and take a wise decision.