All food products will be labeled as of next year (starts March 21), said Dr. Hossein Rastegar, head of the Food and Drug Control laboratories, affiliated to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The ‘signal system’ devised by the FDA determines the amount of trans fat as well as other substances such as salt, sugar, oil, and calorie in each product and demonstrates the nutritional value on a label, ISNA quoted him as saying.
The system is based on the ‘traffic-light’ approach to indicate the ‘health status’ of different food products: the healthiest will have green (or white) labels, the less healthy, yellow, and the least will be labeled red.
Rastegar noted that all the food products in the market are monitored by the ministry of health and medical education, and assured that nonstandard products will be phased out and their production halted. “The same approach adopted in palm oil elimination in dairy products will be implemented with regard to food products.”
Meat and poultry products in the market are perfectly safe. “Controlling poultry is the responsibility of the Iran Veterinary Organization (IVO), which meticulously examines all such products together with the FDA.”
The ‘signal system’ is universally relevant as it is user-friendly and has proved useful in helping people - especially those with heart or blood pressure – to make informed food choices.
