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Only one in four British shoppers looks at the nutritional label on food packaging in supermarkets, according to a European Food Information Council (EUFIC) study.

This is in spite of the fact that they are six times more likely to look at the front rather than the back of the pack and awareness of the Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) and traffic light labelling schemes is high.

EUFIC conducted the research with more than 2,000 shoppers in Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco. Around 900 consumers completed questionnaires at home.

Nearly 80% of consumers had heard of the GDA and traffic light labelling systems, while 90% said they had seen the GDA system before.

Almost 90% of shoppers questioned correctly defined a GDA as a maximum rather than a reachable target and had a good understanding of absolute numbers, percentages and GDAs.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers (73%) thought red in the traffic light system meant complete avoidance of a product, rather than it being fine to have the product occasionally or as a treat.

Fewer than 15% of shoppers felt the colour-coding and interpretive elements (high, medium and low) were helpful for indicating the healthiness of a food product in hybrid GDA and traffic light labels.

The results are part of a broader pan-European study, which will meet help EUFIC meet its commitment to the European Commission's EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity & Health.