Coca-Cola finds things go better with disclosure

The new labels, coming early next year, will show information about kilojoules and nutrition.

Beverage giant Coca-Cola is relabelling its drinks range to reflect its energy content in a voluntary move to address the country's growing obesity problem.

From next year, the front label of virtually all its products will carry an information panel which gives the consumer an at-a-glance indicator of the product's kilojoule content and its contribution to the average recommended daily energy intake, as set out in the New Zealand Dietary Guidelines.

Coca-Cola's announcement came as the Australian Beverage Council unveiled a major overhaul of soft-drink marketing across the Ditch. Changes to take place over two years include the removal of all sugar-sweetened drinks from primary school canteens, and a proposal to halt advertising directly to pupils. Soft-drink companies would also relabel products to declare kilojoule content on the front and nutritional information on the back - a move being mirrored by Coca-Cola here.

Spokeswoman Alison Sykora said the new labels would be introduced over most of the company's 80 products and 300 different pack sizes progressively over two years. Only its water range - with the exception of its Aquashot flavoured waters - would not carry the new labels.

"It's really about good information so consumers can make sensible choices," she said. "It is only indicative ... the thing that it does do is provide a rough idea. We believe that people can enjoy a Coke or whatever else they like, but they do need to balance it all out."

Ms Sykora said the improved nutrition labelling was part of the company's commitment to the Food Industry Accord addressing obesity.

But Obesity Action Coalition executive director Celia Murphy said the new labels would not change people's behaviour.

"I find it all a bit rich really that the advertisers are going to put this information all over the product, but they don't present it in any cautious way ... all of their advertising message is about 'Drink this, drink this and you'll have a marvellous time'.

"I'm not saying that the information's not bad, putting information on is good, but there has to be much more than that. That's not going to be enough for people who are most influenced by the advertisements.

"What I'd rather that they did was stop advertising it so much - stop making it so attractive to children and to young people."


THE NEW LABELS

* Front of pack label featuring the kilojoules (energy) content per serving and percentage of the recommended dietary intake (RDI) these kilojoules represent.

* The intakes were based on an average adult diet of 8700kJ. Based on that, a 390ml bottle of regular Coke (700kJ) represented 8.1 per cent of the recommended dietary intake.

* Additional back of pack labelling contains the list of nutrients (energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fibre, sodium), nutrition information per serving (in addition to the required 100g/100ml information) and percentage of RDI for six nutrients.