More suppliers have agreed to sign up to the government’s hybrid front-of-pack labelling system, it has been revealed.

A report by the Department of Health (DoH) has shown that additional large and small suppliers have privately agreed to join the scheme, introduced last June.

According to the DoH, nearly two-thirds of UK pre-packed goods will show the new labels by next year.

It added that talks had occurred to convince suppliers to make up the second wave, and said dozens of companies were now lined up.

The report said: “The DoH is aware of a number of smaller and larger businesses wishing to use the new scheme that are unlikely to make public declarations of their intentions.

“It is therefore difficult to quantify take-up, but based on the 31 companies that we know of, our best estimate is that nearly two-thirds of pre-packed goods in the UK will show the new labels next year.”

According to reports, the government will not require companies that agree to adopt the system to sign up to the Responsibility Deal pledge on front-of-pack labelling, or to agree to promote the scheme.

Last month, a survey by YouGov on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) revealed consumers were still confused about the system, with just 9% saying it was “very easy”.

According to the survey, more than a third (37%) of industry representatives believed brands and retailers made it difficult for consumers to find the information they needed on food and drink products.