Dataset Information

Differences and Similarities between Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels in Europe: A Comparison of Functional and Visual Aspects.

ABSTRACT: Many different front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labels have been introduced worldwide. To continue the debate on the most effective FOP labels for increased consumer health, full comprehension of their visual and functional features is relevant. This paper compares and provides an overview of all FOP labels currently in practice or in preparation in Europe, by means of the visually oriented Funnel Model. The Funnel Models were completed in collaboration with the respective FOP labelling initiatives. In total, six positive FOP labels, two mixed FOP labels and one negative FOP label were compared. There are multiple similarities and differences between the FOP labels, with each FOP label being characterised by a unique set of criteria and methodological approach. This Funnel Model comparison provides the knowledge to ultimately find more common ground for all stakeholders involved in the FOP labelling debate. Importantly, implementation and evaluation activities carried out by FOP labelling organisations are crucial success factors for FOP labels in practice. We conclude that more attention should be paid to methodological differences between FOP labels and recommend that the current comparison is expanded to a global level and periodically updated, as the variety of FOP labels in the global marketplace is changing constantly.

SUBMITTER: van der Bend DLM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6471039 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Differences and Similarities between Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels in Europe: A Comparison of Functional and Visual Aspects.

van der Bend Daphne L M DLM Lissner Lauren L

Nutrients 20190314 3

Many different front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labels have been introduced worldwide. To continue the debate on the most effective FOP labels for increased consumer health, full comprehension of their visual and functional features is relevant. This paper compares and provides an overview of all FOP labels currently in practice or in preparation in Europe, by means of the visually oriented Funnel Model. The Funnel Models were completed in collaboration with the respective FOP labelling initiatives ...[more]

PMID: 30875797

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Project description:BackgroundFront of pack (FOP) nutrition labels are concise labels located on the front of food packages that provide truncated nutrition information. These labels are rapidly gaining prominence worldwide, presumably because they attract attention and their simplified formats enable rapid comparisons of nutritional value.MethodsEye tracking was conducted as US consumers interacted with actual packages with and without FOP labels to (1) assess if the presence of an FOP label increases attention to nutrition information when viewers are not specifically tasked with nutrition-related goals; and (2) study the effect of FOP presence on consumer use of more comprehensive, traditional nutrition information presented in the Nutritional Facts Panel (NFP), a mandatory label for most packaged foods in the US.ResultsOur results indicate that colored FOP labels enhanced the probability that any nutrition information was attended, and resulted in faster detection and longer viewing of nutrition information. However, for cereal packages, these benefits were at the expense of attention to the more comprehensive NFP. Our results are consistent with a potential short cut effect of FOP labels, such that if an FOP was present, participants spent less time attending the more comprehensive NFP. For crackers, FOP labels increased time spent attending to nutrition information, but we found no evidence that their presence reduced the time spent on the nutrition information in the NFP.ConclusionsThe finding that FOP labels increased attention to overall nutrition information by people who did not have an explicit nutritional goal suggests that these labels may have an advantage in conveying nutrition information to a wide segment of the population. However, for some food types this benefit may come with a short-cut effect; that is, decreased attention to more comprehensive nutrition information. These results have implications for policy and warrant further research into the mechanisms by which FOP labels impact use of nutrition information by consumers for different foods.

Project description:To stem the increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and obesity, front-of-pack labels (FOPLs) have been developed since 1989. Whereas several countries have already adopted one voluntarily, the European Community wants to harmonize an FOPL system that will be mandatory for all member states. The purpose of this narrative review is to describe what could be achieved or not by FOPLs, and to discuss if there is enough evidence to establish whether such labels are effective in modifying purchasing behavior, in directing individual dietary patterns towards a healthy and sustainable diet, and in reformulating food products by the food industry. Non-directive FOPLs, which are still under study, appear to be informative and well-accepted by consumers even if they require a cognitive effort. Conversely, directive FOPLs are supported by several studies, but they are mostly conducted in simulated scenarios and/or performed as retrospective studies. Nevertheless, directive FOPLs are rated as an intuitive tool, and they have demonstrated a high capacity to help consumers rank food products as more or less healthy. In conclusion, directive and non-directive FOPLs convey different messages. No FOPL individually can be considered exhaustive in relation to all the objectives outlined in this narrative review, and therefore, the development of a model synthesizing both messages is advisable. Many questions remain open, such as the possibility of reformulating pre-packaged products, how to deal with traditional products, and the impact on the incidence of NCDs and obesity. In the light of the complexity of factors that condition consumption choices and health, none of the current FOPLs can be considered a health policy tool on its own. The possibility of development remains open, but as the state of the art, these tools do not seem to be able to achieve all the European Community goals together. We can speculate that they could meet these goals only if they are integrated into a multi-tiered, structured health policy intervention.

Project description:BackgroundTo date, no consensus has emerged on the most appropriate front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition label to help consumers in making informed choices. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of the label formats currently in use: nutrient-specific, graded and simple summary systems, in a large sample of adults.MethodsThe FOP label effectiveness was assessed by measuring the label acceptability and understanding among 13,578 participants of the NutriNet-Santé cohort study, representative of the French adult population. Participants were exposed to five conditions, including four FOP labels: Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL), 5-Color Nutrition Label (5-CNL), Green Tick (Tick), and a "no label" condition. Acceptability was evaluated by several indicators: attractiveness, liking and perceived cognitive workload. Objective understanding was assessed by the percentage of correct answers when ranking three products according to their nutritional quality. Five different product categories were tested: prepared fish dishes, pizzas, dairy products, breakfast cereals, and appetizers. Differences among the label effectiveness were compared with chi-square tests.ResultsThe 5-CNL was viewed as the easiest label to identify and as the one requiring the lowest amount of effort and time to understand. GDA was considered as the least easy to identify and to understand, despite being the most attractive and liked label. All FOP labels were found to be effective in ranking products according to their nutritional quality compared with the "no label" situation, although they showed differing levels of effectiveness (p<0.0001). Globally, the 5-CNL performed best, followed by MTL, GDA and Tick labels.ConclusionsThe graded 5-CNL label was considered as easy to identify, simple and rapid to understand; it performed well when comparing the products' nutritional quality. Therefore, it is likely to present advantages in real shopping situations where choices are usually made quickly.

Project description:Front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs) aim at increasing transparency and consumers' awareness of the nutritional composition of pre-packed food products in order to improve the nutritional quality of their food choices. Nevertheless, the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score - the FoPL officially adopted in France and several other European countries - is subject to both technical and political controversy, particularly in Italy. In this study, we investigated how and by whom the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score, recognized by several institutional authorities, could be deconstructed within a specific system of norms, values and beliefs among Italian stakeholders. A netnography completed with qualitative interviews with eight Italian and French nutrition and public health experts were carried out to highlight the dimensions (pragmatic, normative and cognitive) in which the Nutri-Score's legitimacy is being challenged among the stakeholders involved in FoPLs' implementation in Italy. The degree of influence and the position of these stakeholders on the debate around the Nutri-Score were assessed through the Stakeholder Theory (SHT), using their respective level of power, legitimacy and urgency. Furthermore, we compared the Italian and the French contexts on the issue. The direct implication of political parties and media outlets in framing the Italian debate around Nutri-Score as well as the high influence of corporate unions, led to a different political outcome than in France. Results also show that the deconstruction of the legitimacy of the Nutri-Score in Italy pertained mainly to its pragmatic dimension according to the Italian public health experts. Nevertheless, its two other dimensions (normative and cognitive) are also questioned by high-influence stakeholders. Due to the limited mobilization of scientific expertise over the issue, the debate in Italy stayed centered around the "attack" of the Nutri-Score to the Italian way of life, mixing up concepts such as Made in Italy products and the Mediterranean diet.

Project description:One of the suggestions for improving the understanding of food labels is implementing front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FoPNL), where nutritional information is objectively made available to consumers. Scientific data on the best FoPNL model to be adopted for the Brazilian population is still emerging, especially in real-world purchase situations. This study aims to evaluate/compare the proposed Brazilian and Mexican FoPNL systems, on different outcome measures, using an application, in dairy foods available in a supermarket aisle. This pilot randomized controlled trial in a real-world purchase situation was conducted in June/July 2021. A total of 230 participants were randomly allocated to one of the three study arms (Mexican and Brazilian FoPNL systems or control-nutritional information table and ingredients list). Using a smartphone, the participants scanned a product barcode and received the allocated FoPNL (with information about excessive added sugars, sodium, and/or saturated fat content) or the control. After, they answered questions related to our primary outcome (decision to buy or not to buy a product) and secondary outcomes (perceived healthiness, facilitation of a quick purchase decision, and identification of excess nutrients). The Mexican FoPNL system performed better in the primary outcome (3.74 ± 1.34) and "facilitation of a quick purchase decision" (3.59 ± 1.31), compared to the control (3.28 ± 1.45;p = 0.043 and 3.11 ± 1.42; p = 0.029). The Mexican FoPNL system performed better in supporting consumers to identify dairy foods, among the selected sample in this study, high in added sugars than the control (82.2% and 63.5% of correct answers, respectively; p = 0.009). For saturated fats, the Brazilian FoPNL resulted in 93.1% of correct answers against 48.2% for the control and 58.9% for the Mexican system (p ≤ 0.001). The Mexican FoPNL system facilitated consumer decision-making on when to buy or not to buy a selected dairy product and in helping to quickly decide which dairy products to buy, among the selected sample in this study, compared to the control. Considering the right answers of critical nutrients in excess or not, both models of FoPNL, delivered by a smartphone app, performed well.

Dataset Information

Differences and Similarities between Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels in Europe: A Comparison of Functional and Visual Aspects.

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Differences and Similarities between Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels in Europe: A Comparison of Functional and Visual Aspects.

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