Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs)

In February 2005, we became the first company in the U.K. to voluntarily introduce nutrition information labeling – in the form of Guideline Daily Amounts, or GDAs – on the front of cereal packaging. GDAs were designed to provide simple, at-a-glance information about a product – including per-serving percentages of calories, total fat, sodium and total grams of sugar  – and where the food might fit in a consumer’s daily 2,000-calorie diet. This fact-based, front-of-pack labeling system, which complements the more detailed nutrition and ingredient labels found on the side or back panels of packages, also identifies the nutrients consumers typically need more of, such as fiber, calcium and potassium, among others.

We rolled out the GDA labeling programs in Europe and Australia, where they were also adopted by many other major international food manufacturers and retailers. In 2007, we extended the labeling program to the U.S., Mexico, Canada and South Korea. Further expansion continued in 2008 to South Africa and Latin America.