The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) is urging governments across the region to implement front-of-pack warning labels on food products, a move the organisation says will help consumers quickly identify items high in sugar, salt and fat.
According to Antigua Observer, HCC Communications Officer Sheena Warner-Edwards and Youth Ambassador Janet Simon made the call during an appearance on OBSERVER AM, explaining that the labelling system would give shoppers an immediate, clear signal at the point of purchase.
"We have been encouraging the front-of-pack labeling system to be implemented across the region," Warner-Edwards said. "So it would help persons to easily identify at least, you know, where a product is high in sugars, high in fats, high in salts."
Beyond labelling reform, the coalition is also engaging directly with food manufacturers, urging them to reformulate products that are already on Caribbean shelves.
"We are also working with the various industry sections, in that we are putting the information out there and encouraging reformulation of products," Warner-Edwards said. "So we do know that our products in the Caribbean are high in sugar and high in salt, high in fats, we know this."
Warner-Edwards stressed that both initiatives — labelling reform and direct industry engagement — are part of a broader regional strategy to reduce the Caribbean's high burden of non-communicable diseases. She cautioned that public awareness campaigns alone will not be enough, and that meaningful progress requires coordinated policy action and industry cooperation.
