1. Study on Legibility of Nutrition Labels on Prepackaged Foods in Hong Kong Trade Consultation Forum 28.02.2014

2. Background Provision of nutrition information on food label is an important tool to promote a balanced diet and protect public health Legible food label with essential information of product appropriately marked is a bridge for assisting consumers make informed choices2 3. Background (2) ()Trade Guidelines on Preparation of Legible Food Label (the Guidelines)2012issuedin May 2012 after consultation with the trade and consumers aims at assisting the trade in providing legible information on food label including nutrition label provides principles and examples of legible food labels for reference5 3 4. Elements of Legible Food Label Suitable font size : x-1.2 : x- 1.2 In general, x- x:4English letter: recommended x-height at least 1.2mm Chinese characters: comparable size to x-height 1.2 mmx-height is defined as the height of small character x as illustrated below: 5. Elements of Legible Food Label (2) (2) Suitable font size (2) the recommended font size may not be always practically feasible 400 5limited package size (e.g. total surface area less than 400cm2)required to present information required by international standards and guidelines in addition to local laws 6. Elements of Legible Food Label (3) (3) Suitable font size the recommended font size may not be always practically feasible ()imported food products that have packaging with limited spacing for affixing label with larger font sizethe information is presented in more than one language (e.g. Chinese and English)English minimum font size: 0.8mm Chinese minimum font size: 1.8mm 6 7. Elements of Legible Food Label (4) Goodcontrast allblackorsingledarkcolour type,printedonawhiteor othersinglelightcolour acceptabletodoitviceversa aslongasthewordsare clearlyshown7 8. Elements of Legible Food Label (5) (2) Goodcontrast(2)forproductspackedin transparentcontainers recommended food label area come with a non-transparent contrasting background the clarity of the label would not be affected by the colour or appearance of the food8 9. Elements of Legible Food Label (6) Enoughspacing 9Wordsandcharactersdo not toucheachotheror thelinesandborders surroundingorseparating theinformation,ifany 10. Elements of Legible Food Label (7) Otherelements suitableprintingtechnologynonreflectiveprinting surfaceappropriatefonttype10 11. Scope of Study TheCFSconductedthejoint studywithConsumerCouncilThestudyaimsto 11Understandwhetherthe tradeprovideslegibleNLin accordancewiththe Guidelines provideadvicestotradefor improvingthelegibilityof NL 12. Food Sampling : 2013 8-9Targeted on relatively small package size prepackaged food items in local market Sampling period: Aug - Sept 2013 Food Category No. of sample Biscuits22/ Bread/cake15Crispy snacks13/// Milk/milk beverage/yoghurt/yoghurt drink16 Canned sardine10 Canned luncheon meat12Non-alcoholic beverages (ready to drink)12Total100 12 13. (): Methodology Centre for Food Safety (CFS) Assessment: () (): , FoodResearchLaboratory Measurable element (font size)AssessmentPanel Other elements (contrast, spacing, etc)Consumer comments: Commentwhichelement(s) needs improvement,ifany13 14. Methodology (2) 1+7FRL analysis x- ( o) ()microscopic measurements on the 1+7 NL the x-height for English letter (by measuring lowercase letter o)the total height of the Chinese characters14total surface area of the package of products (reported as ranges) 15. Methodology (3)Consumer Group 18 Total 18 consumers2160Aged between 21-60 yrs Have reasonable eye-sight, after using glasses, if necessary15 16. Results 17. Language of NL Food Category Number of sample English NL only NL more than one language Chinese NL only Biscuits22616-/ Bread/cake151122Crispy snacks1376-/// Milk/milk beverage/yoghurt/yoghurt drink16511- Canned sardine1037- Canned luncheon meat1239- Non-alcoholic beverages12651 Total1003166317 18. Assessment Results 63 : 51 : 15 : 9 : 5 : 2Total 63 samples NL not following the suggestions in the Guidelines 18Font Size: Printing Tech: Contrast: Spacing: Reflective surface:51 15 9 5 2 19. Font size 51 / x-Total 51 samples do not comply with font size requirement in the Guidelines (English x-height or/and Chinese total height)According to the Guidelinesx-1.2 English: 1.2 mm x-height; Chinese characters with comparable size400If total surface area of the package is less than 400cm2 or the information is presented in more than one language, minimum font size 0.8 mm x-height minimum Chinese total height 1.8 mm x-0.8; 1.819 20. Font size (2) Example (1) Biscuits Chinese total height = 0.91 mm () x- English x-height =0.48mm ()20 21. Font size (3) Example (2) Biscuits Package total surface area 400cm2 Chinese total height = 1.6 () Have enough space to provide larger nutrition label21 22. Contrast 9 9 samples have relatively poor contrast Example (1) / Bread/cake22 23. Contrast (2) Example (2) Biscuits23 24. Contrast (3) Example (3) / Bread/cake24 25. Spacing 5 5 samples do not have enough spacing Example (1) Canned sardine25 26. Spacing(2) Example (2) Canned sardine26 27. Other Elements Other elements affectingNLlegibility 27Printingtechnology ReflectiveSurface PositionofNL 28. Printing Technology 15 15 samples have poor printing technology Example (1) Non-alcoholic beverages28 29. Printing Technology (2) Example (2) / Bread/cake29 30. Printing Technology (3) Example (3) / Bread/cake3030 31. ReflectiveSurface 2 2 samples using reflective surface Example (1)/ Bread/cake31 32. ReflectiveSurface(2) Example (2) Biscuits32 33. PositionofNL Example (1) /// Milk/milk beverage/yoghurt/yoghurt drink33 34. PositionofNL(2) Example (2) Biscuits Nutrition label hidden34 35. Otherobservation Affixedlabel 31 31 samples with affixed nutrition labels Sample with affixed label Sample with NLs printed on the packaging* Small font size*19/31 (61%)32/68 (47%) Poor printing technology12/31 (39%)3/69 (4%) Inadequate spacing5/31 (16%)0/68 (0%)400 x-