The traffic light label system launched by the British puts at risk about 2.5 billion euro export of Made in Italy products, from cheeses to meats, up to olive oil. This is what Coldiretti complaints in reference to the new nutrition labeling system adopted by the United Kingdom, with red, yellow or green stickers to indicate the content of nutrients critical to health. A choice dictated by the desire to reduce the consumption of fat, salt and sugars but - Coldiretti states - not based on the amount actually consumed, but only on the generic presence of a certain type of substances, paradoxically excluding from the diet foods like extra virgin olive oil and promote, on the contrary, carbonated beverages without sugar, misleading consumers with respect to the real nutritional value.
The red light penalizes the presence of fat superior to 17.5 grams, the yellow one between 17.5 and 3 grams, the green up to 3 grams. A choice that has already been adopted in many supermarkets and which , although not being yet a law - Coldiretti notes - now puts in jeopardy some key sectors of Made in Italy exports in Britain such as - according to Coldiretti elaboration on Istat data on foreign trade - meats and cold cuts, cheeses, including Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, olive oil, sweets and so on. The unjust rejection of excellence tricolor threatens the entire trend of Made in Italy food consumption in the UK, which in the first nine months of 2013 showed a rise of 6%.
Italy and other European countries have highlighted how the traffic light system will have a negative impact on trade, with the possible presence of barriers between Member States.
