The comments came from council CEO Kate Carnell, in response to a call from Parents’ Jury, an organisation that advocates healthy eating environments. For a recent study published in the journal Health Promotion International, researchers tested four labelling systems and found that product comparisons could be made quickly and easily under the traffic light system.

But Carnell said the claim that traffic lights lead to informed choice were misleading.

“There is no scientific or government research to demonstrate that any food labelling system is substantially better than others,” she said.