Technology will replace nutritional labelling, says expert
new technologies, the current debate over nutritional labelling is
only a transitional phase, said a market expert at last week's
Healthy Foods Summit.
In a presentation on future scenarios and how to prepare for them, Stephanie French, nutrition strategy consultant, told attendees on the summit's second day that the speed to technical change is getting faster, and new technology can have an effect on dietary management.
"In the medium- to long-term information will be available to consumers in other ways," she said. "People are already looking to computers and phones to manage their diet."
For instance in Canada a device known as MyFoodPhone already exists, with which consumers take photographs of their meals and receive feedback on their dietary choices.
The labelling debate is ongoing in EU member states between the food industry, pressure groups and regulatory bodies. The traffic light scheme for example, designed to provide at-a-glance information on whether a food is high, medium or low in total fat, sugar and salt (with red, yellow or green stickers), is supported by bodies such as the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA).
It claims that this system performs best for the majority of consumers at showing the key nutritional characteristics of a food simply and easily.
However, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) believes that new guideline daily amounts (GDAs) on food packaging is the best means of empowering consumers with vital nutritional knowledge. Food manufacturers and retailers, along with the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), issued a voluntary code of GDAs earlier this year.
These days, consumers are taking more interest in health and wellbeing, rather than visiting their doctor only when ill. For instance, people can now monitor their own blood pressure and sugar levels, and diagnose gluten intolerance with a pin prick.
Self management of health is here. Can monitor blood pressure and sugar. Self-diagnosis of gluten intolerance with a pin-prick. Breathe tests can allow people to check their own metabolic rate, and adapt their food intake and calories.
"If we manage health like that, diet should be a bigger part of it," said French. "Personalised management of biomarkers means consumers can see measurable effects of food on the body. It can help them see the results of a food and help them decide whether or not to keep taking it."
Some innovations she flagged include intelligent clothing that can measure pulse, temperature and fluid levels. In the future, she hypothesised, we may see a t-shirt that informs the wearer that the food they are eating is too fatty, or shoes that complain when they enter McDonalds for the third time in a week.
"The time has come to proactively define the future for the consumer," she said.
