Food Labels & Diabetes - new petition!

[Stefan Diabetes UK]

Last year thousands of people told us, as part of the Future of Diabetes Big Conversation, that food labelling was too confusing. And that’s making it harder for people to manage their diabetes.

That’s why today we’re launching our Food Upfront petition, asking government for clear, consistent and compulsory labelling, in supermarkets and restaurants. Can you add your signature? (https://goo.gl/WMhtG3)

Here's what we'd like to see:

1. Front-of-pack traffic light labelling on all pre-packaged foods sold in the UK.
2. Calorie labelling in key restaurants, cafes and takeaways, with carbohydrate content available online or when requested in store.
3. Carbohydrate content labelling on products per portion or per individual unit as prepared.
   

As part of the conversations we had last year, including those I had on this forum, people living with all types of diabetes told us these are changes that would make a real difference to them. And they’d also help everyone else trying to make healthier choices with their food, by making it clear what’s actually in what we're eating.

We’d like to get as many names as we can to show government that this is a really serious issue for millions of people. So please sign, and share with your friends and family 🙂

This is just the first step in the campaign, so watch this space! You’ll have a chance to sign-up for further updates when you sign the petition. If you've any questions just reply below 🙂

 

[Mark Parrott]

I find the traffic light system totally unhelpful to me. It just shows sugars when it should show total carbs too.

 

[Ljc]

I find the traffic light system totally unhelpful to me. It just shows sugars when it should show total carbs too.

I feel the same as you @Mark Parrott , I don’t bother with them and turn to the label on the back.

 

[Robin]

I find the traffic light system totally unhelpful to me. It just shows sugars when it should show total carbs too.

I agree, I've always ignored it. It doesn't show carbs, and it labels some things (such as cheese) as red for fat because it goes by the percentage per 100g. I personally would never eat 100g of cheese at one sitting.
I'd also like to see a proper table on the back of goods. Sometimes they list the breakdown on the back as a continuous paragraph and it's difficult to weed out the carb content from the middle of a long script.

 

[Ljc]

Done

 

[JMyrtle]

Done, I couldn't understand why carbs are not listed, sugar only is not the full picture.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hope the campaign goes well.

+1 for the complete waste of time of listing sugar on the front of a pack - particularly when it's something that is made of processed white flour.

 

[mikeyB]

MacDonalds put full info on all their meals, which are strictly quantity controlled. I don’t doubt others will follow. Some of the carb contents are hair raising.

Pizza shops will struggle, because of extra toppings.

 

[zx10pilot]

Signed. And thanks for staring the petition - the current food labelling "traffic light" is utterly meaningless.
"Sugar" content may be low, but carbohydrate content very high.
Many products are marketed as healthy - they fanfare sugar as 2.6% or something daft according to the traffic light on the front, but then on the back in small print it's actually 70% carbohydrate. It's no wonder people get confused.

I was offered some of these...
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/diablo-sugar-free-chocolate-chip-cookies-60028151
... when I asked to look at the label then politely declined their offer, the person actually took offence. They didn't understand the difference and thought I was being difficult.

I learnt very quickly to ignore the traffic light labelling and now my shopping takes alot longer... but I know what I'm buying.

Regarding eating out, it is always a challenge and a certain amount of guestimation is normally required.
I often ask for a nutrition guide when out, and it's surprising the number of places that can provide alergen information & calorie content, but do not have the carb content. It really can't be that difficult to add an extra column in the data they already have as the "chain" food emporiums should be able to indicate carb content as portion control is pretty well maintained.

 

[trophywench]

Rant alert.

Subway 'shops' can tell me every single thing any trainee Nutritionist could ever ask apparently - except the actual carb content of the rolls themselves and various of the fillings which comprise recipes, eg meatballs.

They are weird in there - the kids meals consist of a 4.5inch roll so that's ideal for me as TBH 6inch is too much. However if I want more than the limited 'kids' selection of fillings - eg tuna & sweetcorn I am not allowed to have it.

So I HAVE to order a 6inch roll, with tuna & sweetcorn plus lettuce and tomato with a bit of extra mayo, eat all the filling but leave an inch or so of the bread.

I am also not allowed to have a coffee to drink, should I decide I'll have the kids size sandwich.

Hey ho - I'm not wanting to pay reduced prices, I haven't said that. I just don't want you to give me more than I want to eat, and then make ME feel guilty for the waste.

 

[Vince_UK]

Golden rule for me now is simply
"Read the back, ignore the front".
It has now become second nature even here in China.
I realised early on that carbs were not included and I was puzzled, and still am, why they aren't.
Sometimes the carb content is absolutely mind blowing.

 

[Vince_UK]

I cannot open the petition by the way,it is blocked. I guess a proxy signature is unacceptable.

 

[Sally71]

Done

It really annoys me that all the fuss these days is about sugar only, and not all carbs. I remember learning at school that all carbs turn into glucose in your digestive system, I don't know why so few other people seem to know this! If you ask people for carb information they look at you as if you are totally barmy, as if nothing can possibly be more important than calories, and why on earth would you want to know about carbs?!

 

[Mark Parrott]

Rant alert.

Subway 'shops' can tell me every single thing any trainee Nutritionist could ever ask apparently - except the actual carb content of the rolls themselves and various of the fillings which comprise recipes, eg meatballs.

They are weird in there - the kids meals consist of a 4.5inch roll so that's ideal for me as TBH 6inch is too much. However if I want more than the limited 'kids' selection of fillings - eg tuna & sweetcorn I am not allowed to have it.

So I HAVE to order a 6inch roll, with tuna & sweetcorn plus lettuce and tomato with a bit of extra mayo, eat all the filling but leave an inch or so of the bread.

I am also not allowed to have a coffee to drink, should I decide I'll have the kids size sandwich.

Hey ho - I'm not wanting to pay reduced prices, I haven't said that. I just don't want you to give me more than I want to eat, and then make ME feel guilty for the waste.

They have the carb content of the rolls online. They are all in the 40's regardless of type. I tend to go for a salad at Subway & double the meat for a £1 extra.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Done

It really annoys me that all the fuss these days is about sugar only, and not all carbs. I remember learning at school that all carbs turn into glucose in your digestive system, I don't know why so few other people seem to know this! If you ask people for carb information they look at you as if you are totally barmy, as if nothing can possibly be more important than calories, and why on earth would you want to know about carbs?!

I mentioned this following sentence in another thread & shall repeat it here. Sugar makes us fat. It contains no fat. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. This is proof that carbohydrates make us fat. It's not rocket science.

 

[mikeyB]

Forgot to mention, I’ve signed the petition.🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Done

It really annoys me that all the fuss these days is about sugar only, and not all carbs. I remember learning at school that all carbs turn into glucose in your digestive system, I don't know why so few other people seem to know this! If you ask people for carb information they look at you as if you are totally barmy, as if nothing can possibly be more important than calories, and why on earth would you want to know about carbs?!

Do you know I was thinking about this the other day, when the news was announced that Public Health England are considering recommending 400 - 600 - 600 calorie meals. I am assuming this gives a little freedom for snacks etc as RDA seems to be 2000-2500 Cals?

What struck me was how difficult those targets would be. How off-putting as a guide - because absolutely everything would need to be counted and allocated.

I think they would have MUCH more success if they gave a guideline carb amount instead. Just like people with T1 were given not all that long ago. Much easier to count arguably the most significant macronutrient - and a cap on that would automatically limit many of the nasties that people regularly eat which blow any of these calorie guidelines out of the water.

I can remember working out (after diagnosis) that, for example, a fast food milkshake contained a whole meal’s worth of carbs!

Those carb limits I was introduced to reduced portion sizes in a far simpler way than full calorie counting - which I don’t think I would bother with.

 

[mikeyB]

The trouble with that 400-600-600 plan is that it sounds horribly like rationing. The government deciding on how much you need to eat, and what, to just keep body and soul together. Admittedly, the population were lean and healthy in the war years, and for a few years afterwards.

Does Public Health England know something we don’t?

 

[trophywench]

Fast food = the chip shop in 1972 - and with 7 chips being 10g CHO (1 exchange) one could no longer grab roe and chips in blissful ignorance!

 

[trophywench]

Oh - so to eat at Subway I can only do it if I go online? Why can't the staff tell me then if it's that easy?