Supporters of front-of-pack GDAs have urged the government to exercise caution in its bid to make the food industry adopt a single system of nutrition labelling.

At the unveiling of the Department of Health's obesity strategy report - Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives - health secretary Alan Johnson warned that if the industry could not reach a voluntary agreement on the matter, he would consider legislative action.

"We know that clear, simple front-of-pack labelling helps consumers make healthier choices and make a positive contribution to a healthy diet - essential if we are to turn the tide on rising levels of obesity," said Johnson. "That is why I am determined we must see the adoption of a single labelling system based on the best available evidence."

The decision on which labelling system to use would be determined by the results of an independent panel evaluation, he said. This is being conducted by BMRB, with the results expected in December.

The FSA-funded study will examine the three main labelling systems currently in use - GDAs, multiple traffic lights and a hybrid of the two. But Jane Holdsworth, director of the FDF-backed GDA Campaign, warned that it was too early to be certain the research would prove that any one system was better than its rivals.

"It is very important that we go into the process of evaluating the merits of different systems without a pre-formed view of the outcome," she said. "It is too early in the process to have decided that a clear-cut winner will emerge."

This echoed the views of the FSA, which admitted in a statement last June: "It may be that more than one scheme is helpful to the consumer." Johnson's comments came as Brussels was finalising plans for mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling (see p8).

The DoH report, published on Wednesday, also called on the food industry to commit to doing more to communicate messages on issues such as consumption of fruit and vegetables, salt reduction and drinking.

In addition, the government announced Ofcom would bring forward a review of advertising restrictions, with the results expected by the summer.

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