Sir, "Eating five fruit and veg a day won't help you to beat cancer" screamed a recent press headline.

With Christmas around the corner, sensational media reports could lead to confusion about what people should eat.

This is one of the reasons IGD's nutrition working group recently published a guide to help food businesses communicate better with consumers about achieving a healthy balanced diet. The guide has been developed to ensure it is in line with government messages about healthy eating, such as the Eatwell plate. This, for example, recommends one third of our intake should be from fruit and veg. They also need consistency to counter the constant melodramatic reporting of the latest fad diets that run contrary to healthy eating advice. A good example of an effective and regularly used message is the five-a-day campaign. IGD shopper research shows 60% of shoppers have specifically bought products to contribute to achieving their five-a-day in the past month.

Rachel Hackett, nutrition and scientific affairs manager, IGD