Disability Equality Scotland, Oban and District Access Panel and Sight Scotland are calling on the Scottish Government to introduce requirements for braille labelling on food products.
Currently, braille labelling is only required for medicines. This means braille users are at a disadvantage when identifying food products.
What we are calling for
- A legal duty for businesses and retailers to provide braille labels on food products.
- Labels should include the name of the item and use by or sell by dates
Why this matters
Access to information is essential for independence.
Braille labelling would help blind and partially sighted people to:
- Identify products
- Organise shopping at home
- Prepare food safely
- Know if items are safe to use
What people are saying
“I feel passionate that blind and partially sighted people should be able to identify products, especially food products, in order to store away shopping, and retrieve products quickly, easily and with the minimum of effort. I wonder what people with sight would think if labels were removed and they had to seek assistance or do some guessing.”
Marie Harrower, Oban and District Access Panel
Current Situation
Responsibility for food labelling now sits with the Scottish and UK Governments.
The Scottish Government has confirmed that food labelling legislation will be reviewed in the future. This may include consideration of braille labelling and new technology.
We want to ensure this issue is treated as a priority and has a clear
timescale.
Campaign partners
- Disability Equality Scotland
- Oban and District Access Panel
- Sight Scotland
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