In Finland, the need for nutrition labels to help consumers to make healthier food choices was emphasized in the consensus statement for promoting Finnish heart health in the late 1990’s. The system including a front-of-pack logo, a Heart Symbol, for Finnish consumers was developed and launched jointly by Finnish Heart Association (FHA) and Finnish Diabetes Association (FDA) in the year 2000.
The development was heavily based on work of Finnish experts in the field of nutrition and medicine, and there was active collaboration with Finnish Food Safety Authority and other relevant authorities that has continued since then. As the Finnish nutrition recommendations were updated in 2005, the Heart Symbol was included in guidelines for consumers. Based on European regulations (EC N° 1924/2006) on nutrition and health claims made on foods, the Heart Symbol has been notified to be the only symbol on the Finnish market to be regarded as a nutritional claim.