New legibility guidelines agreed by supply chain

UK-based food and grocery industry think tank the IGD (Institute for Grocery Distribution) has extended its Packaging Legibility Guidelines to include information for food sold loose over the counter and food sold by caterers.

The IGD’s Guidelines are designed to help manage the process of label development, focusing on key aspects of legibility including text layout, type size and font, titles and headings, colour print finishes and the use of functional icons - for example using an illustration to show cooking instructions.

Produced as a result of collaboration between IGD, retailers, manufacturers, regulators, design professionals, food service and consumer organisations, the Guidelines now include recommendations for labelling of loose food and food sold by caterers because of the increasing contribution of eating out to our diet.

Foods sold loose over the counter are currently exempt from the majority of food labelling legislation. The Guidelines recommend making basic labelling information available whenever possible, for example information on allergens, making display tickets legible from a distance and particularly through glass, and attaching sticky tickets to purchased goods to convey information such as cooking and storage instructions.

Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive IGD added, ‘The product label is the principal source of consumer information. IGD consumer research shows that 61 per cent of consumers would use the information on labels when choosing a healthy diet. These Guidelines will help address the challenge faced by the industry and ultimately help the consumer, as the amount of detail required by law continues to increase.’

Packaging Legibility Recommendations for Improvement are available to download free of charge from IGD’s website www.igd.com