What if foods in Kenyan supermarkets carry KCSE exam grade labels – A for the best and grade E the worst?
Sounds fanciful? It is actually happening in many European countries that chose the five values ranging from A to E according to the nutritional value of a food product.
In Australia, foods carry voluntary stars: The more stars, the healthier the choice.
Other countries have introduced colour coding, with green for healthy and red for least healthy.
These labels are prominently printed on the front of food packages.
Such labels are backed by UN agencies such as the World Health Organization and Unicef to protect consumers as unhealthy, ultraprocessed products slowly displace healthy foods in supermarkets.
They could be coming to Kenya soon.
Health advocates are now asking the Ministry of Health and the Kenya Bureau of Standards have a requirement that processed foods and beverages carry front-of-pack warning labels (FOPWLs).
They say this will help Kenyans make healthier choices and also force manufacturers make healthy products.
Celine Awuor, who leads the legal think tank International Institute for Legislative Affairs in Nairobi, says there is overwhelming evidence these labels help consumers pick healthy foods. They also discourage manufacturers from selling bad foods, such as those loaded with sugar and fats.
“We strongly advocate for the urgent implementation of evidence-based mandatory FOPWLs in Kenya. By providing clear and accessible information about the sugar content in food products, the Ministry of Health can empower parents to make healthier choices and protect children's health from the dangers of excessive sugar consumption,” she said.
The UN places foods into four groups: unprocessed/minimally processed food (from the farm), processed culinary ingredients (such as sugar, cooking oil), processed food (breads, pasta, canned foods) and ultra-processed food (junk foods filled with sugars, oils, fats, salt).
In February, the world’s largest review of its kind directly linked the ultra-processed foods to 32 harmful effects to health, including a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, adverse mental health and early death.
According to Kenya’s Ministry of Health, people sick with non-communicable diseases now occupy 50 per cent of all hospital beds.
Awuor said FOPWLs should be one way to fight NCDs in Kenya.
“By implementing FOPWLs, the Ministry of Health can take proactive steps to safeguard children's health and equip parents with the information they need to protect their child’s future.”
In its document, 'Guiding principles and framework manual for front-of-pack labelling for promoting healthy diet', the WHO says countries can choose either voluntary or mandatory labelling.
Countries that have passed laws requiring mandatory FOPWLs include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
South Africa is currently developing a legislation to require the warnings.
“There are several types of front-of-pack labelling, but studies from around the world have shown that the most effective are warning labels that appear on the front package and state that a product is 'high in' or has 'excessive' amounts of harmful ingredients,” Awuor said.
The WHO says such labels help consumers make healthier food choices and drive reformulation by the food industry.
According to Unicef, there is evidence consumers prefer front of package nutritional labels that are immediately visible and can be understood easily at a glance. This is as opposed to the tiny, illegible back labels on most food products.
“Labels that minimise effort allow shoppers to swiftly identify which items are unhealthy and decrease their intention to purchase such items while also increasing their intention to purchase something healthier,” Unicef says in its policy brief, ‘Front-of-pack nutrition labelling of foods and beverages.’
An evidence-based nutrient profile model would be a game-changer for Kenya, said Gideon Ogutu, a health governance assistant programme officer at the IILA.
"It will help us combat the rising rates of obesity and diet-related diseases by empowering consumers to make healthier choices," he added.
