The UAE Cabinet has approved a policy that will help people make better food choices, by labelling nutrition data of pre-packaged items in three colours based on their nutritional values.
In a nation where sixty-eight percent of the population is overweight, the National Programme for Happiness and Wellbeing studied a solution that would promote a healthier lifestyle through healthier eating, through a survey that showed that almost three-quarters of the participants would find it easier to make good choices through colour-coded labels.
With the new system, calories, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salts of each packaged food will be labeled in one of three colours to help consumers make better food choices: red will warn of high content, yellow will represent a moderate value, and green highlights a healthy low amount.
The Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future said in a statement, “The Nutrition Labelling Policy aims to raise community awareness and nudge people into adopting a healthy lifestyle, which will eventually promote health and overall wellbeing in the UAE.”
The policy will be implemented by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology and will be made mandatory by January 2022.
