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Background:  Implementing a European Union (EU)‐wide mandatory nutrition labelling scheme has been advocated as part a multi‐pronged strategy to tackle obesity. The type of scheme needs to be acceptable to all key stakeholders. This study explored stakeholders’ viewpoints of labelling in two contrasting food cultures (France and the UK) to see whether attitudes were influenced by sectoral interests and/or national context.

Methods:  Using Multi Criteria Mapping, a decision analysis tool that assesses stakeholder viewpoints, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered during tape‐recorded interviews. In France and the UK, 21 comparable stakeholders appraised nutritional labelling with criteria of their own choosing (i.e. feasibility, societal benefits, social acceptability, efficacy in addressing obesity, additional health benefits) and three criteria relating to cost (to industry; public sector; individuals). When …