Unhappy meals

Scott Billings is supremely uncritical of Boxer’s design for nutrition information on McDonald’s new packaging (DW 17 November).

The symbols are completely meaningless to the general public, in Britain and probably in Europe (apart from ‘kcal’).

Also, the percentages do not seem to refer to anything apart from something called the Guideline Daily Amount (whose guidelines? McDonald’s?).

This seems to be an abuse of the design process, to obscure rather than clarify important dietary information.

There is no point in using symbols unless they are readily understandable to a majority of the population. If you use words there can’t be any doubt.

Richard McConnell FCSD, East Yorkshire HU13 0BH