Conveying information through food packaging: A literature review comparing legislation with consumer perception

Schifferstein, Hendrik N.J.; Boer, Alie de; Lemke, Mailin

doi:10.1016/j.jff.2021.104734

Cited by 38 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…An important finding was the mistrust and scepticism participants had of the motives behind manufacturers using nutrition content and health claims on food labels. This is again consistent with other research, showing consumers tend to view claims with scepticism [ 19 , 23 , 26 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Many participants questioned the accuracy of the claims, often based on a negative experience.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Nutrition content and health claims may assist shoppers with making informed decisions about their purchases and consumption of food and beverages, potentially leading to an improvement in diet quality [ 15 ]. However, some research has shown that nutrition content and health claims may increase purchasing and consumption of less healthy foods by creating a “health halo effect”, which increases consumer perception of the healthfulness of the food [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“It’s All Just Marketing”, a Qualitative Analysis of Consumer Perceptions and Understandings of Nutrition Content and Health Claims in New Zealand

Stuthridge

Alexander

Stubbe

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Nutrition content and health claims are widely used globally on both food labels and in food advertising. This study explored how New Zealand consumers understand, perceive, and use nutrition content and health claims on food labels. A qualitative approach was used with semi-structured in-depth online interviews and in-person focus groups including 49 participants, aged ≥25 years responsible for household food shopping. Transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis using inductive coding, with development of five themes—(1) aware of claims but did not use, (2) mistrust and scepticism, (3) confusion and misinterpretation, (4) using claims to guide food choice, and (5) not all claims are equal. For theme 1, price and habit were found to be the most influential in driving food choice. Underlying theme 2 was the perception by most of nutrition and health claims as marketing. Scepticism was exacerbated when nutrient claims were displayed on inherently unhealthy products. However participants with specific dietary requirements did find claims helpful. Restricting nutrient claims to foods meeting a healthy nutrient profile aligned to the existing Health Star Rating system, education about regulation and supporting claims with more contextual information may increase trust, the perceived value of claims and therefore their utility.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s All Just Marketing”, a Qualitative Analysis of Consumer Perceptions and Understandings of Nutrition Content and Health Claims in New Zealand

Stuthridge

Alexander

Stubbe

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[ 70 ]. For claims on packaging to be effective, it is critical that they are understandable and, more importantly, trusted by the consumers [ 71 ]. In this study, by comparison, only 1.4% of milks targeting COA making nutrition claims failed the compliance test.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On-the-Pack Voluntary Well-Being Messaging for Milks Targeting Chinese Older Adults: A Content Analysis

Chen

Moradi

Hort

2022

Foods

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China is experiencing severe population aging. Given that milks targeting older adults are one of the most popular foods designed for Chinese older adults (COA), this study investigated on-the-pack (OTP) voluntary well-being messaging (VWM, ways of communicating a product’s broad well-being benefits through information on food content or statements linked to favourable components, functions, or well-being outcomes) for milk targeting COA. Over 200 products identified from two sources (JD.com and Mintel’s global new products database), were analysed for type, content, and VWM frequency for different brand origins and milk sources of various animal species, nutrition claim regulation compliance and alignment with nutrition facts. The results suggested: (1) different brand origins (domestic vs. international) and milk source (cow vs. goat) highlighted different well-being aspects of products, (2) three products failed to comply with government regulations made for nutrition labelling of pre-packed foods (GB 28050-2011), but (3) excepting fat, all ‘contains’ claims and most ‘high’ claims did not reflect significantly greater levels of nutrients, compared to products with no claims. The findings create a comprehensive picture of OTP VWM for milks targeting older adults in China, providing useful information for consumer, domestic, and international dairy industries, and policymakers.

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“…Perceived environmental sustainability is most often related to sensed genuineness and ethical gratification, which are factors that can contribute to consumers’ likelihood to purchase [ 16 ]. However, although aspects such as “healthiness” and “environmental friendliness” are attributes that are considered by consumers at the time of purchase, they may not automatically be reflected into their concrete action [ 23 ]. Indeed, understanding consumers’ behavior is a necessary prerequisite for effective marketing [ 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Better communication by companies willing to take on their social responsibility could encourage consumers to make greener and more environmentally sustainable behaviors and choices. Food labels are an important information vehicle for consumers by providing both details about ingredients and allergens, and health or environmental effects, and food label designers play a key role in how this voluntary information is communicated [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumers’ Awareness, Behavior and Expectations for Food Packaging Environmental Sustainability: Influence of Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Chirilli

Molino

Torri

2022

Foods

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Packaging is a leading factor determining the total environmental effect of food products. This study investigated consumers’ awareness, behavior and expectations in relation to the environmental sustainability aspects of food packaging. Using an online survey, responses from 646 participants were collected. The effect of socio-demographic characteristics on all variable responses was explored by ANOVA models and t-tests. Participants were segmented according to a visual approach based on a principal component analysis applied on the consumers’ behavioral data. Gender, age, and education level affected consumer awareness, behavior and expectations differently. Four groups of consumers were distinguished on the grounds of their behavior in relation to food packaging: (1) More sustainable—packaging-role-oriented; (2) More sustainable—packaging minimizers; (3) Less sustainable; and (4) Medium sustainable. The most sustainable groups were mainly composed of females, while less sustainable consumers were mainly the youngest. The four groups differed in terms of expectations for sustainability-related information that can be communicated through food labels. In conclusion, this work provided new knowledge that is useful to understand the factors that influence consumer behavior and to promote the consumers’ packaging-related sustainability choices through food packaging.

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Conveying information through food packaging: A literature review comparing legislation with consumer perception

Cited by 38 publications

References 108 publications

“It’s All Just Marketing”, a Qualitative Analysis of Consumer Perceptions and Understandings of Nutrition Content and Health Claims in New Zealand

“It’s All Just Marketing”, a Qualitative Analysis of Consumer Perceptions and Understandings of Nutrition Content and Health Claims in New Zealand

On-the-Pack Voluntary Well-Being Messaging for Milks Targeting Chinese Older Adults: A Content Analysis

Consumers’ Awareness, Behavior and Expectations for Food Packaging Environmental Sustainability: Influence of Socio-Demographic Characteristics

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