Traders and consumers in the Central Region have been urged to support calls for the introduction of mandatory front-of-package warning labels on packaged food products to help consumers identify foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.
The call was made when nutrition students from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) took an awareness campaign to communities and markets at Abura, Kotokoraba and Elmina, to educate the public on the proposed policy and build support for its adoption.
The campaign is being implemented by SEND Ghana, Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (GAND) and Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development (VAST Ghana), in collaboration with students of the GAND Students Association, UCC chapter.
The campaign seeks to educate consumers about the proposed policy and generate public support for its adoption by the government.
Speaking during the campaign, the President of the GAND Students Association, UCC chapter, Samuel Mbila-Smart, said consumers needed clear and easily understood information to make informed decisions about the food products they buy.
He said many packaged foods could contain high levels of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, which consumers would not immediately recognise from existing nutrition information on the packaging.
“How do you tell if a particular food product is high in salt or high in fat? There is the need for everyone to read food labels before they consume or buy anything,” he said.
Mr Mbila-Smart said the students were taking the campaign beyond the university to markets and communities because of the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
He said the proposed warning labels would make it easier for consumers to identify products containing excessive amounts of sugar, salt or unhealthy fats at the point of purchase.
He, therefore, urged the government to accelerate the formulation and adoption of the proposed policy to give consumers clearer information about the food they buy.
The Communication Officer of SEND Ghana, Joana Ankomaa Addey, said the campaign was aimed at taking the advocacy from policy discussions to communities, where people make everyday decisions about the food they consume.
She said the three organisations were leveraging the platform of nutrition students to educate consumers and generate public support for the proposed policy.
“We want our country people to be healthy because the numbers we are recording for non-communicable diseases are really going up,” she said.
Ms Addey said changes in lifestyles and the food environment have also contributed to increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, including instant noodles, sugar-sweetened beverages and packaged cocoa drinks.
She added that some of these products could contain high levels of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats and that consumers needed simple, visible and easily understood information to help them make healthier choices.
She said a mandatory front-of-package warning label would alert consumers immediately when a product exceeded recommended levels of sugar, salt or unhealthy fats, rather than requiring them to interpret complicated nutrition information at the back of the package.
Ms Addey said the campaign was, therefore, seeking public support for the government to accelerate the formulation of the policy through the Ministry of Health.
She urged consumers, traders and other members of the public to join the advocacy and support efforts to introduce clear warning labels on packaged foods.
