Perception of Portuguese Consumers Regarding Food Labeling

Silva, Bruna; Lima, João; Baltazar, Ana Lúcia; Pinto, Ezequiel; Fialho, Sônia Cristina de Magalhães Souza

doi:10.3390/nu14142944

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Being healthy or healthy eating was identified by food label readers as the main reason for using food labels [ 23 , 24 , 38 ]. Using food labels has also been found to be positively associated with selecting foods for health reasons [ 19 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with food label use: focus on healthy aspects of orthorexia and orthorexia nervosa

Bellikci-Koyu,

Karaağaç,

Yürük

2024

Eat Weight Disord

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Purpose This study aimed to investigate the potential relationships between the use of different section of food label, and healthy and pathological aspects of orthorexia among adults. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey (n = 1326). Inclusion criteria were being 19–64 years and graduated from at least primary school. Pregnant and lactating women were excluded. Data were collected using questionnaire including socio-demographic variables, lifestyle factors, body weight and height, frequency of reading different sections of food label (“always”, “when buying a food for the first time”, “when comparing similar packaged foods”, “rarely”, “never”), food label literacy, and Teruel Orthorexia Scale. Participants were categorized as nutrition facts panel-users, ingredients list-users or claim-users if they read at least one item from the relevant parts. Results The proportions of nutrition facts, ingredients list, and claims sections users were 72.3%, 76.3%, and 79.9%, respectively. Both healthy and pathological aspects of orthorexia were associated with reading food labels. The healthy orthorexia had the strongest association with using the ingredients list (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.41–2.20), whereas the orthorexia nervosa showed the highest association with using nutrition facts panel (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.20–1.81). While women, physically active participants and those with higher food label literacy were more likely to use all sections of food labels; older age, having children, and chronic disease increased the likelihood of using claims and ingredients list (p < 0.05). Besides, following a diet was associated with higher use of nutrition facts and ingredients list (p < 0.05). Conclusions The study demonstrates that food label users have higher orthorexia tendencies compared to non-users. Of the food label sections, healthy orthorexia showed the strongest association with use of the list of ingredients, while pathological orthorexia showed the strongest association with use of the nutrition facts panel. Level of evidence Level V, cross-sectional study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with food label use: focus on healthy aspects of orthorexia and orthorexia nervosa

Bellikci-Koyu,

Karaağaç,

Yürük

2024

Eat Weight Disord

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“…This information is mandatory and contributes to the promotion of healthy eating [ 57 ]. It has been reported that Portuguese consumers generally read food labels and realize their importance, even though not fully understanding all the information contained in the label [ 58 ]. While being easier for them to understand the front-of-pack labelling, and most especially those presented through symbols/colors, they find it more difficult to consult the other bits of information provided in the labels [ 58 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been reported that Portuguese consumers generally read food labels and realize their importance, even though not fully understanding all the information contained in the label [ 58 ]. While being easier for them to understand the front-of-pack labelling, and most especially those presented through symbols/colors, they find it more difficult to consult the other bits of information provided in the labels [ 58 ]. In this way, it is necessary to better educate consumers, namely with respect to food literacy, and to give them the tools that allow for the proper interpretation of labels to make informed food choices [ 58 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Literacy Scale: Validation through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a Sample of Portuguese University Students

et al. 2022

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Eating behaviors and healthy food choices are associated with food literacy, and they have a huge impact on one’s health status. For that reason, to increase food literacy is a way to effectively help individuals make appropriate choices that help maintain health and diminish the incidence of non-communicable diseases. The objective of this work was to test and validate a scale to assess food literacy. The validation was conducted on a sample of 924 Portuguese university students. The scale was composed of 50 items, which were submitted to exploratory and confirmatory factors analysis. The final validated scale corresponded to a second-order model with a global factor called “Food literacy”, which retained 26 items distributed by three factors: F1—literacy about the nutritional composition of foods (10 items), F2—literacy about labelling and food choices (7 items), and F3—literacy about healthy eating practices (9 items). The internal consistency of the scale is very high, with an alpha higher than 0.9, and the Pierson correlations between the three factors and the global are also higher than 0.9. In conclusion, the present scale has been validated and can therefore be utilized to measure food literacy.

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“…Individuals who did not comply with the previously stated inclusion criteria were excluded from the study. Data regarding sociodemographic information and knowledge concerning food labelling, as well as FOP nutrition labelling tools were adapted from the Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire (Turrel & Kavanagh, 2006;Silva et al, 2022). Written informed consent…”

Section: Data Collection Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling on Portuguese Consumers’ Food Preferences - a Preliminary Study

Marcos,

Gomes,

Palma

et al. 2023

Res J Food Nutr

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Background: Nutrition labelling, as a way of communication between consumers and the food industry, allows them to make more conscious, informed and safe choices when purchasing food products. Simplified nutrition labelling systems are considered one of the best tools for the promotion of healthy eating habits.Aim: This cross-sectional descriptive study aims to evaluate the use of the front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling in the food choices of Portuguese consumers, as a complement to the Nutritional Declaration, through an online survey. Methods:The total sample consists of 120 Portuguese individuals, aged between 18-55 years. Data was collected during the January of 2022. Socio-demographic data, knowledge about food labelling and knowledge about FOP nutrition labelling systems (Nutrition Traffic Light and Nutri-Score) were collected. Results:The results highlight a statistically significant association between gender and the choice to read food labels (p=0.004) and reveal that information expressed on nutrition labels affects consumers' decision (p=0.015), both at the time of purchase. FOP system (p=0.014) as well as location (p=0.010) was preferred to traditional Nutrition Declaration, regarding food label reading. The interest in the product's nutritional value appears to be the main significant motive for influencing label reading (p=0.021). No other statistical relevance was found. Conclusion:To sum up, when purchasing, the information, location and design of nutrition labels tends to affect consumers' decisions. Thus, food education campaigns amongst the population are necessary to minimize nutritional literacy gaps. However, future studies are needed to assess the impact of the Nutri-Score system on consumers' food choices.

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Perception of Portuguese Consumers Regarding Food Labeling

Cited by 11 publications

References 41 publications

Factors associated with food label use: focus on healthy aspects of orthorexia and orthorexia nervosa

Factors associated with food label use: focus on healthy aspects of orthorexia and orthorexia nervosa

Food Literacy Scale: Validation through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a Sample of Portuguese University Students

Influence of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling on Portuguese Consumers’ Food Preferences - a Preliminary Study

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