Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of requiring food labels to declare levels of potassium and phosphate content.

The labelling of packaged foods and drinks plays an important role in helping individuals access the information they need to make informed choices about the food they buy. Food labelling legislation sets out the information that must be displayed on a product’s labelling or packaging, including the ingredients list, the nutrition declaration, and any voluntary food information provided by businesses.

The key nutrients that must be included in the nutrition declaration on a mandatory basis, regardless of the amount, are the most relevant to current public health concerns in Great Britain at a population level. A standardised set of nutrients ensures consumers can easily compare products, and requiring too many nutrients to be included on a mandatory basis may complicate labels and make comparisons harder.