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Food labelling failing healthy eating

Plain English Campaign wants to lift the lid on food labelling that can be dangerously confusing. The Campaign feels that regulatory bodies and manufacturers in the UK have lost the plot when it comes to food labelling. Tiny text with figures and words from a science laboratory can drive customers away from the supermarket shelves, instead of increasing sales and helping the customer.

A typical pot of cottage cheese can bombard shoppers with information that can be unclear and unhelpful in making healthy choices. Foodstuff measurements alone come in all forms and combinations - percentages, fractions, kcal, kJ, and g, and don’t forget your GDA and RDA.

As well as the numbers and calculations, the shopper has to deal with scientific terms and industry abbreviations that could add to your weight, as well as your frustration.

Last Updated on Monday, 16 April 2012 13:34 Read more...

Warning: Nuts repeat on you

An action team set up by Plain English Campaign is keeping watch over the poor communications in food labelling this year. The nuttiest find so far is on a chocolate selection card.

Chocolate-lovers can read no fewer than eight mentions about the nut content in the chocolate menu selection alone. Further details on the back of the Cadbury Milk Tray box go on to give the full ingredients and nutritional values, once more including the nuts.

Warnings are essential for allergy sufferers. But with three of the ten chocolates listed already containing the word ‘nut’ in their menu names, Plain English Campaign is puzzled by this need for such frequent repetition.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 April 2012 14:01 Read more...

Scotland pipes up for plain language

On Thursday 8 March 2012, Thorfinn Johnston, Plain English Campaign trainer, is attending a reception at the Scottish Parliament. This is part of the showcase for work by the Inclusive Communications team in Scottish Government.

The reception will open with an address by Michael McMahon MSP, delivered to representatives from Parliament, Government, public services and charitable organisations keen to provide clearer public communications.

Last Updated on Monday, 12 March 2012 15:28 Read more...

Award nominations

Plain English Campaign is accepting nominations for their 2012 Golden Bull awards, and two outstanding EU examples of gobbledygook have been received today. The first is from an EU office, 'The Directorate General Information Society and Media (DG INFSO)' and the second from the Spanish central bank, 'The Bank of Spain'.

The first example from the EU website tells us that ordinary 'thinking' and 'doing' is simply not enough in a digital future. We think that 'prepare for reflections' and 'anticipatory thinking' means plain old 'thinking ahead'! There probably isn't much space left on the 'time horizon' for that though, with all the 'envisaging of scenarios', 'generating of policy options ' and 'inspiring of strategic choices'.

"The project envisages scenarios on a time horizon 2040-50 and generates ideas and policy options with a view to inspire future strategic choices of DG INFSO and the Commission."

Last Updated on Tuesday, 03 April 2012 08:31 Read more...

Getting your teeth into plain English

On Wednesday 7 March 2012, Malcolm Lewis, one of our Plain English Campaign trainers, gave a presentation to the Orthodontic Consultant Symposium (PDF, 179KB) on the benefits of using plain English in the medical profession.

The presentation, for orthodontic consultants who work in the NHS, took place at the Royal College of Physicians in London. With NHS reforms making the public more responsible for decisions about their health care, it is essential that communications from all health-care professionals are clear and easy to understand.

Last Updated on Friday, 13 April 2012 10:49 Read more...

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