• Alternatives to GDA

    We are often asked what we want instead of GDA?

    The organizations who initiated this campaign consider the inherent problems of GDA to be so serious that we focus on the complete removal of GDA from the EU legislation even though we do not fully agree on the alternatives (see below). GDA should not be chosen just because better alternatives are still being discussed. More time and independent research is needed to develop and test nutrition labeling that support consumers in buying and eating healthier foods.

    Nutrition labelling can be improved by:
    1)  Mandatory 100 g/100 ml back-of-pack labelling in nutrition information panels on all food including single-servings.

    2) An interpretative and simple front-of-pack element should be agreed upon to help consumers make informed and health-conscious choices at a glance. The interpretive element should not be based on impossible-to-define portions, but nutrients per 100 kcal, grams or ml.

    3) Independent research into different labelling schemes, how they are interpreted by consumers and how they affect their buying habits should form the basis for the decision.

    Organizations and experts saying no to GDA should unite and encourage the European Parliament and Council to ensure the time and resources needed to develop an interpretive element that actually improves the health of Europeans. Future nutrition labelling should be formed by experts an not by the interests of big food companies only. See how you can act here and find links to new and ongoing research in this field under research.

    Some organizations have suggested alternative labelling schemes:

    • Danish Consumer Council is a member of BEUC, the European Consumers’ Organisation, and Danish Heart Foundation is a member of EHN, European Heart Network. Like BEUC and EHN, Danish Consumer Council and Danish Heart Foundation support a mandatory front-of-pack multiple traffic light labelling scheme. Find more information on these links to beuc.org and ehnheart.org.
    • The Danish Agricultural Council, the Danish Dairy Board and Federation of Retail Grocers in Denmark suggest a best choice labelling scheme corresponding to the Swedish Keyhole Symbol helping consumers identify the healthier options when buying food or eating out. Find more information on the Swedish Keyhole Symbol here.
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