Front-of-pack nutrition labelling: are multiple formats a problem for consumers?

Abstract

Background: Nutrition labels are a potentially valuable tool to assist consumers in making healthy food choices. Front-of-pack labels are a relatively new format and are now widely used across many European countries, but it is unclear which of the many formats in use are best understood by consumers. It is also unclear whether the existence of multiple formats impedes understanding and use. This article addresses this question with findings from a study commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency to provide evidence to inform policy decisions in this area. Methods: In-depth qualitative interviews were used to explore consumers’ decision-making processes when using two different front-of-pack label formats to judge the relative healthiness of a pair of products. Participants were presented with product pairs differently labelled and a series of structured prompts were used to access their internal dialogues and to identify any difficulties encountered. Results: The interviews revealed that making product comparisons using different label formats was challenging for participants and particularly for those product pairs where there was not an obvious answer. When the label formats on the product pairs lacked a common element, such as text, this also caused difficulties and misinterpretation. The comparisons also took time and effort that would be a deterrent in real-life situations. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the existence of multiple front-of-pack label formats in the marketplace may impede consumer comprehension and discourage use. They suggest that a single format may encourage consumers to use front-of-pack labels in making healthy food choices.

Semáforo nutricional de alimentos procesados: estudio cualitativo sobre conocimientos, comprensión, actitudes y prácticas en el Ecuador

“…industria guíen al consumidor hacia la selección de alimentos saludables (2)(3)(4) . En este contexto, el presente estudio demuestra que el efecto potencial del semáforo nutricional en el Ecuador varía según dimensiones de la población, especialmente edad, sexo, y el tamaño del lugar de residencia, reflejando el hecho de que el semáforo nutricional es conocido, observado y tomado en cuenta en el momento de compra y consumo de alimentos procesados.…”

“…El problema afecta a todas las personas, independiente de su edad, etnia, lugar de residencia o nivel socioeconómico (1) . Experiencias en varios países demuestran que un etiquetado nutricional puede contribuir a mejores decisiones en la compra de alimentos y a prevenir el sobrepeso y la obesidad (2)(3)(4) . Un sistema de etiquetado frontal con graficas a colores permite que los consumidores identifiquen alimentos saludables y, si se parece un semáforo, facilita aún más la selección de esta clase de alimentos (5)(6)(7)(8)(9) .…”

Online food nutrition labelling in the UK: how consistent are supermarkets in their presentation of nutrition labels online?

“…In 2013 it was reported that 60 % of foods found in supermarkets featured traffic light labels and five supermarkets had agreed to consistent labelling including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Co-op, Waitrose and Morrisons (6) . In 2013 the UK Government published a press release announcing new consistency guidelines (6) based partly on findings by Draper et al (7) that concluded 'multiple front-of-pack label formats in the marketplace may impede consumer comprehension and discourage use'. This finding supported previous research reports that found different presentation of nutrition information confusing (8,9) .…”

Protocol for a Randomized Trial Assessing Consumer Evaluations of Pre-Packaged Foods that Systematically Vary by Nutrition Information and Product Attributes

“…Along with corn flakes and yoghurt, these four food types were chosen because they are commonly purchased products [62], vary widely in healthiness [46], often contain health claims [63] and consumers often make use of the nutrition information contained on the packs of these products [64]. These foods have also been studied frequently in the past, allowing the findings of this study to be compared with those of previous studies [55,[65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75].…”