Tesco and Morrisons are stalling over a consumer group-backed traffic light labelling system being introduced by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) designed to make identifying healthy foods easier in the UK.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more


According to the FSA, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose will be the first retailers to display red, amber and green warning signs on their processed foods to indicate high, medium or low levels of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, with Asda to follow shortly.


However, Tesco and Morrisons are less willing to co-operate with the new system.


Top UK retailer Tesco will keep its existing guideline daily amount (GDA) labelling, and considers the traffic lights simplistic and misleading to customers. A company statement said: “Tesco also found that red is taken by customers to mean stop or danger rather than warning or consider and could mean that people eliminate certain foods from their diet.”


Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest retailer is currently “reviewing labelling presentation and considering various signposting options,” according to a company statement, and has two of its own label brands already.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The traffic light labels – which will be displayed on ready meals, pizzas, breakfast cereals and sandwiches at participating supermarkets – will also give information on the levels of nutrients per portion of product.


Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King said: “We support the use of a labelling system which uses traffic light colours. It is the simplest and clearest way of giving customers the information they are looking for.”