Day 37 · Proposal 36 · Part XXII · Policy 40

Traffic-Light Taxation of Food

Clear information. Consistent standards. A healthier food market.

Proposal 36 would establish a mandatory national Green, Amber and Red nutritional classification for qualifying food products sold in the United Kingdom.

The core idea

Manifesto 1.1 proposes a mandatory national traffic-light framework for qualifying food products sold in the United Kingdom. Each product would receive a standardised Green, Amber or Red nutritional classification so consumers can understand its relative nutritional quality quickly and consistently.

The framework would provide the common classification needed for later proposals on unhealthy-food taxation, healthy-food subsidies and manufacturer reformulation.

This proposal does not invent the thresholds, tax rates or qualifying scope that the source leaves undefined. These details must be properly developed, evidenced and scrutinised before implementation.

Make nutritional quality clear before changing prices or taxation.

What the classification would consider

Sugar and salt

Measure key nutrients associated with diet-related harm using published, evidence-based thresholds.

Saturated and trans fats

Reflect both fat quantity and type, including stronger treatment where the health risks are greater.

Overall composition

Assess the whole product rather than relying on one positive or negative nutrient in isolation.

Degree of processing

Include processing where evidence shows that it materially affects nutritional quality or health.

Fibre and protein

Recognise beneficial nutritional characteristics without allowing them to disguise excessive harms.

Other relevant factors

Permit transparent updates as evidence, products and public-health understanding develop.

A simple public signal

The public-facing system should be easy to recognise, while the technical method beneath it must be independently governed, evidence-led and open to challenge.

Green

Products meeting the strongest defined nutritional criteria. Green would indicate relatively healthier nutritional quality within the national framework.

Amber

Products between the Green and Red thresholds. Amber would communicate moderation and allow proportionate policy treatment.

Red

Products meeting defined high-risk nutritional criteria. Red would indicate the strongest concern, not a ban on purchase.

Rules the framework would need

Qualifying scope

Define which packaged, prepared, imported, hospitality and specialist products must be classified.

Nutritional thresholds

Publish the evidence, calculations, category adjustments and treatment of serving size.

Classification authority

Give a competent independent body responsibility for standards, decisions and updates.

Transparency

Make classifications, methods, evidence, conflicts and changes publicly accessible.

Appeals and corrections

Allow errors and disputed classifications to be reviewed without weakening enforcement.

Consistent display

Use clear placement, size, wording and accessibility rules across physical stores and online sales.

Scope, thresholds, exemptions and governance must be specified before implementation.

Consumer understanding and industry incentives

Quick comparison

Let shoppers compare products consistently without requiring specialist nutritional knowledge.

Accessible design

Use legible labels, plain language and formats suitable for colour-vision deficiency and digital shopping.

Reformulation

Give manufacturers a clear incentive to reduce harmful ingredients and improve overall nutritional quality.

Reclassification

Allow genuinely improved products to move category once they meet the published criteria.

Public education

Explain what each colour means, what it does not mean and how it fits within an overall diet.

Ongoing evaluation

Track understanding, purchasing, reformulation, health effects, avoidance and unintended consequences.

Safeguards against distortion

Prevent a single added nutrient from masking excessive sugar, salt or harmful fats.
Use appropriate product categories where direct comparison would otherwise mislead consumers.
Review the treatment of portion sizes, concentrates and products marketed as multiple servings.
Protect small producers from unnecessary complexity without creating loopholes in consumer protection.
Coordinate with existing UK nutrition labelling and avoid contradictory signals on the same product.

Clear choices for consumers. Better incentives for the food industry.

Questions for scrutiny

This proposal should be tested with nutrition scientists, public-health specialists, consumer groups, people affected by diet-related ill health, food manufacturers, farmers, retailers, hospitality businesses, schools, local authorities, trading standards, economists and the devolved administrations.

Which food products should qualify, and which exemptions - if any - are justified?
Which body should set, apply and periodically revise the classification rules?
How should sugar, salt, saturated fat, trans fats, fibre, protein and processing be weighted?
Should thresholds vary by food category, portion size or intended use, and how can complexity be controlled?
How should fresh, unpackaged, restaurant, takeaway and imported foods be treated?
How can labels remain accessible to people with colour-vision deficiency, limited literacy or visual impairment?
What evidence and consumer testing should be required before the categories become mandatory?
How should manufacturers challenge errors while preventing delay or tactical appeals?
How should reclassification work when a product is reformulated or new evidence emerges?
What enforcement, inspection and penalties should apply to missing, misleading or false classifications?
How should the UK framework interact with existing front-of-pack labels and devolved responsibilities?
Which outcomes should trigger revision: understanding, purchasing, reformulation, health or market effects?

The proposed direction

Proposal 36 would establish a mandatory national Green, Amber and Red system for qualifying food products.

Classification would reflect sugar, salt, saturated and trans fats, overall composition, processing, fibre, protein and other relevant nutritional characteristics.

The system would help consumers compare products and create a transparent foundation for later food-tax, subsidy and reformulation policies.

Before implementation, government must specify the qualifying scope, nutritional thresholds, authority, exemptions, display rules, appeals, enforcement and evaluation plan.

Give every qualifying food product one clear, consistent nutritional signal.

Source note

Source basis: Manifesto 1.1, Part XXII, Policy 40, “Traffic-Light Taxation of Food”, Major Promise 36 - A National Food Traffic-Light System. The source restores the mandatory Green/Amber/Red framework and nutritional factors. Qualifying scope, thresholds, authority and exemptions are not specified and remain open for scrutiny.

Read. Question. Challenge. Improve.

Manifesto 1.1 is a citizen-led project. This proposal is presented for public scrutiny, not as a finished or unquestionable policy.

Visit the main Manifesto 1.1 site