Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/464860
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW Highlighting best practice 10 | REVIEW OF THE YEAR Regulations, which are due to come into effect in 2015, will eventually make back-of-pack nutritional labelling mandatory on most prepacked food, while front-of-pack labelling will be voluntary. Despite growing concern among public health officials about the problem of excessive 'binge' drinking, alcoholic drinks were exempted from the regulations. To confuse the picture even more, there are separate EU regulations governing health and nutritional claims, and for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). But, at the end of the day, does labelling make any difference to consumer behaviour and purchase choices? The Daily Telegraph ran a story on US research which found that, while labelling made shoppers more aware of the nutritional content of the food they were buying, it had little impact on the food they put into their baskets. The study found that price and taste were the key factors in influencing consumers' food purchases. Whether or not these measures governing food labelling will result in a greater degree of trust among consumers, it seems to be a case of you pay your money, you take your choice. Christine Tacon, who ran the Co-operative's farming unit for 11 years, was appointed by the government as the UK's first supermarket ombudsman at the beginning of 2013. However, she had to wait until the Groceries Adjudicator Act had received Royal Assent in April 2013 before she was able to begin her work officially. The creation of the post was first recommended by the Competition Commission in 2008 to resolve disputes between supermarkets and suppliers. As the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), to use the role's formal title, Ms Tacon has the power to fine misbehaving supermarkets. She is responsible for policing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, which was introduced by the previous government in 2010 to ensure that the ten biggest supermarket groups, with an annual turnover of over £1 billion each, did not abuse their relationships with their suppliers. The relationship between large supermarket groups and suppliers has been fraught with tension over the Christine Tacon (right), pictured with agriculture minister Michelle O'Neill Supermarket ombudswoman US research has shown that, while labelling makes shoppers more aware of the nutritional content of the food they are buying, it has little impact on the food they put into their baskets