scholarly journals Nutrition communication: consumer perceptions and predicting intentions

2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moira Dean ◽  
Liisa Lähteenmäki ◽  
Richard Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Health Benefit ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Health Claim ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Nutrition Communication ◽  
Main Factor

Health claims on food products, which aim at informing the public about the health benefits of the product, represent one type of nutrition communication; the use of these is regulated by the European Union. This paper provides an overview of the research on health claims, including consumers’ perceptions of such claims and their intention to buy products that carry health-related claims. This is followed by a discussion on the results from some recent studies investigating public perceptions and willingness to use products with health claims. In these studies, claims are presented in the form of messages of different lengths, types, framing, with and without qualifying words and symbols. They also investigate how perceptions and intentions are affected by individual needs and product characteristics. Results show that adding health claims to products does increase their perceived healthiness. Claim structure was found to make a difference to perceptions, but its influence depended on the level of relevance, familiarity and individuals’ need for information. Further, the type of health benefit proposed and the base product used also affected perceptions of healthiness. The paper concludes that while healthiness perceptions relating to products with health claims may vary between men and women, old and young and between countries, the main factor influencing perceived healthiness and intention to buy a product with health claim is personal relevance.

scholarly journals Claims on Ready-to-Eat Cereals: Are Those With Claims Healthier?

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Parra-Murillo ◽  
Caitlin M. Lowery ◽  
Luis F. Gómez ◽  
Mercedes Mora-Plazas ◽  
Lindsey Smith Taillie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cereal Products ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Advertising Law ◽  
Quality Of Products

Background: The use of advertising content strategies that suggest consuming a product will confer nutrient- and health-related benefits influences household food purchasing decisions, which increases consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor products. We examined the presence of marketing claims regarding nutrient content, health and nature in ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal packages in relation to the products' nutritional quality.Methods: A cross-sectional content analysis was conducted on 178 RTE cereal packages available in the six largest supermarket chains in four Colombian cities from August to November 2018. The nutritional quality of products was assessed through the nutrient profile model established by the Chilean Law of Food Labeling and Advertising law.Results: All products sampled exceeded the regulation threshold for at least one nutrient of concern (e.g., high-in calories and/or sugar). The majority (66.3%) of packages had claims related to nature, 57.3% had nutrient-content claims, and 15.7% had health benefit or risk avoidance claims. Most products with nature, nutrient-content, and health claims were high in energy (99.2, 98.0, and 92.9%, respectively) and sugar (88.1, 87.3, and 92.9%, respectively).Conclusion: RTE cereal products offered in major Colombian supermarket chains are heavily marketed using nutrition- and nature-related claims. Nearly all products with claims are high in energy and sugar, despite the messages conveyed by the claims to consumers. Results support the implementation of mandatory regulations restricting claims on food and beverage products high in nutrients of concern.

scholarly journals Setting Policy Priorities for Front-of-Pack Health Claims and Symbols in the European Union: Expert Consensus Built by Using a Delphi Method

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung Hung ◽  
Sophie Hieke ◽  
Klaus Grunert ◽  
Wim Verbeke
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Behavior ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Delphi Method ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Consumer Motivation ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Policy Priority

Despite the fact that front-of-pack nutrition labels such as health claims and symbols have received growing attention in consumer behavior research, comprehensive conclusions could not yet be drawn to develop concrete policy actions, owing to the complexity of the subject and a constantly changing market environment. In this study, evidence-based policy recommendations and communication guidelines have been derived from the findings of the EU FP7 project CLYMBOL (“Role of health-related CLaims and sYMBOLs in consumer behavior”, Grant Agreement 311963), and have been evaluated and prioritized by European stakeholders using a three-round Delphi method. A moderate level of consensus was achieved and results suggest that policy priority should focus on ways to improve consumer motivation and interest in healthy eating. Consumers’ interest in healthy eating could be increased by adopting appropriate communication strategies such as using innovative ways to communicate the importance of healthy eating, which may aim to change the possible negative association between healthiness and tastiness. The highest-rated finding was related to consumers’ favorable attitude towards health claims with shorter and less complex messages and health symbols with a visible endorsement. Meanwhile, there was a clear consensus that health claims need to be scientifically substantiated and credible but phrased without using overly complex scientific wordings, in order to be meaningful for consumers. Furthermore, stakeholders from academia and industry believe that consumer awareness about existing health claims should be increased. The identified policy recommendations and communication guidelines stem from recent empirical evidence and provide useful insights that guide future policy development aligning consumer protection issues as well as public health and food marketing communication interests.

scholarly journals Understanding How Consumers Categorise Health Related Claims on Foods: A Consumer-Derived Typology of Health-Related Claims

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charo Hodgkins ◽  
Bernadette Egan ◽  
Matthew Peacock ◽  
Naomi Klepacz ◽  
Krista Miklavec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Group ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Health Claim ◽  
Fair Competition ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Nutrition And Health Claims ◽  
The Eu

The Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (NHCR) EC No 1924/2006 aims to provide an appropriate level of consumer protection whilst supporting future innovation and fair competition within the EU food industry. However, consumers’ interpretation of health claims is less well understood. There is a lack of evidence on the extent to which consumers are able to understand claims defined by this regulatory framework. Utilising the Multiple Sort Procedure (MSP), a study was performed (N = 100 participants across five countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom) to facilitate development of a framework of health-related claims encompassing dimensions derived from consumers. Our results provide useful insight into how consumers make sense of these claims and how claims may be optimised to enhance appropriate consumer understanding. They suggest consumers may not consciously differentiate between a nutrition claim and a health claim in the way that regulatory experts do and provide insight into where this might occur. A consumer-derived typology of health-related claims based on three key dimensions is proposed: (1) Familiarity with the nutrient, substance or food stated in the claim; (2) statement type in terms of simplicity/complexity; (3) relevance of the claim, either personally or for a stated population group.

scholarly journals Review of "Uniunea Europeană – un trend în derivă? O analiză a discursului mediatic și a perspectivei tinerilor" (The European Union – a Drifting Trend? An Analysis of Media Discourse and Youth Perspectives) by Oana Ștefăniță, Comunicare.ro, 2017

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Georgiana Udrea
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Southern States ◽  
The Future ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
The Eu

In recent times, the European Union has been confronted with huge challenges and crises, which, in the absence of prompt and effective measures, call into question the future of the European project itself. The political incongruities, the disintegrating tendencies culminating with Brexit, the divisions between northern and southern states over economic crisis and austerity measures, the refugee waves and their poor integration into society, the rise of populist and extremist currents, etc. have caused anger, confusion and fear among Europeans, influencing the relations between member states and public perceptions. In this unstable context, studying people’s opinion on the EU and its subtle mechanisms becomes an important and pragmatic effort, as the public has the means to pursue action based on its feelings of support or opposition towards the community block. Oana Ștefăniță’s book, Uniunea Europeană – un trend în derivă? proposes such an insight into the world of young European citizens, investigating their interest in European issues, the EU’s place on the agenda of interpersonal conversations, the way they understand and experience the feeling of European belonging, and their perspectives on the future of the Union.

scholarly journals Heart Images on Food Labels: A Health Claim or Not?

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 643
Author(s):  
Krista Miklavec ◽  
Maša Hribar ◽  
Anita Kušar ◽  
Igor Pravst
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Food Labels ◽  
Food Label ◽  
Health Claim ◽  
Health Related

Health claims on food labels are used by food manufacturers to inform consumers about the health effects of a product, and such claims can have notable effects on consumer preferences. According to regulatory definitions, health claims can be either worded or presented as images, but it is not clear under which conditions an image on a food label should be considered a health claim. This question has important practical implications, as the use of health claims is strictly regulated. The objective of this study was to determine how commonly images of the heart are used on food labels, and to investigate consumers’ perceptions of products labelled with heart images, using different degrees of health relationships. Both a food supply study (N = 10,573 foods) and experiments with consumers (N = 1000) were performed in Slovenia. The use of heart imagery on food products was very common (9%). The consumer study was conducted using a web panel. Structure of the study population was comparable with Slovenian adult population (18–65 years), according to gender and age. The questionnaire was split into conjoint analysis with constructed elements, a choice-based task with real-life elements and a consumers’ association task. The experiments showed that a heart image as part of the brand name itself—without an additional (worded) health claim—did not cause most consumers to relate it to health. However, consumers tended to strongly relate an image of the heart as part of a brand with health benefits, where the image was accompanied by a worded health claim or if the heart image was designed specifically to imply health benefits. We can conclude that the use of heart images was very common on food products, but references to health were less common. Without a health-related context, heart images could not be considered as a health claim.

scholarly journals Public Perceptions of Biofuels - Case Study: Frames of Biofuel Discussion in the Finnish Context

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elina Siivari ◽  
Ilia Safrutin ◽  
Khalil Mozaffari ◽  
Esa Käyhkö ◽  
Risto Jouttijärvi
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Eu

Biofuels are fuels made of biological materials and they can be used in cars, trucks and other engines. The EU's policy and regulatory framework for bioeconomy and biofuels is seen as a multi-layered and complex issue. Policies around biofuels have developed recently in the EU. Renewable Energy Directive II established a binding target for the use of renewable energy across the European Union by 2030 to be 32% of the total energy production. Finland is a country where the utilization of forest biomass has traditions ranging back centuries and continues in the present day with bioenergy holding a central role in the Finnish energy matrix. Our case study is focused on examining the public perceptions of biofuels in Finland and is linked to the discussion about climate change, global warming, and sustainable development. We used a stakeholder approach and mapped key stakeholders in the biofuel sector in Finland from six stakeholder categories: corporations, governmental actors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), municipalities, universities, and the media. We selected 59 online publications for our analysis from a time period between 2010-2019. Frame analysis was conducted using three pairs of polarised frames: environmental positive and negative, economic positive and negative, and technological positive and negative. The results show that for the most part the framing of biofuel discussion in Finland is positive and emphasizes the environmentally and economically positive aspects. The negative aspects that came to front are especially in the notions of economic costs and in arguments for environmental calculations. The EU legislation itself is seen as a background to all this discussion and is itself not scrutinized extensively by the various stakeholders.

scholarly journals Nutrient Profiling Is Needed to Improve the Nutritional Quality of the Foods Labelled with Health-Related Claims

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urška Pivk Kupirovič ◽  
Krista Miklavec ◽  
Maša Hribar ◽  
Anita Kušar ◽  
Katja Žmitek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
World Health ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sales Data ◽  
Nutrient Profiling ◽  
Health Related

Health-related claims on food products influence consumers and their food preferences. None of the European countries have restricted the use of health claims to foods of high nutritional quality despite the regulatory background provided by the European Union in 2006. We evaluated the nutritional quality of foods labelled with claims available in the Slovenian market using two nutrient profile models—Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and European World Health Organization Regional office for Europe model (WHOE)—and compared the results to the nutritional quality of all available foods. Data for prepacked foods in the Slovenian food supply were collected in 2015 on a representative sample (n = 6619) and supplemented with 12-month product sales data for more accurate assessments of the food supply. A considerable proportion of foods labelled with any type of health-related claim was found to have poor nutritional quality. About 68% of the foods labelled with health-related claims passed FSANZ criterion (75% when considering sales data) and 33% passed the WHOE model (56% when considering sales data). Our results highlight the need for stricter regulations for the use of health-related claims and to build upon available nutrient profiling knowledge to improve nutrition quality of foods labeled with health-related claims.

Health claim regulation of probiotics in the USA and the EU: is there a middle way?

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.E. Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Health Claims ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Health Claim ◽  
Middle Way ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Micro Organisms ◽  
Improve Health ◽  
The Eu

In both the USA and Europe, supermarkets and pharmacies are brimming with probiotics - products containing live micro-organisms claiming they improve health. The availability of these products corresponds to a growing consumer demand for foods that improve or maintain health and wellness. The most persuasive include claims that consumption may confer health benefits. While some of these claims may have merit, others have not been substantiated. For a number of products, claims are based on insufficient research, underpowered studies, or mixed research results, yet individual consumers find that the product is of benefit to them. In attempting to regulate health claims, as distinct from safety, government entities may take positions which represent opposite ends of a philosophical spectrum. On one end of the spectrum they may take a limited approach to regulation relying primarily on the marketplace that respects individual autonomy and assumes a sophisticated consumer and honest sellers; alternatively they may choose substantial regulation based on a belief that consumers need protection from profit-seeking manufacturers. The USA and the European Union have taken two different approaches on this regulatory spectrum.

What is a health benefit? An evaluation of EFSA opinions on health benefits with reference to probiotics

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.H. Binnendijk ◽  
G.T. Rijkers
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Gut Health ◽  
Health Claim ◽  
Future Health ◽  
The Past ◽  
Scientific Substantiation

Probiotics are microorganisms that have a beneficial effect on the health of the host. However, before these effects can be referred to as beneficial to human health, such claims need to be evaluated by regulatory institutes such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and allergies (NDA) has published their opinions regarding health claims including probiotics, most of which were rejected in the past years. Using the EFSA database, the NDA dossiers published between 2005 and 2013 were analysed to provide an overview on what grounds certain health effects were accepted as beneficial and others not. The NDA Panel distinguishes between claims that are definitely beneficial, possibly beneficial or non-beneficial to human health. Overall, 78% of all analysed health claims are considered by the NDA Panel as (possibly) beneficial to human health, in particular the gut health effects. Since, in many cases, the scientific substantiation of a particular health claim was deemed insufficient, most applications were turned down. For future health claim applications concerning probiotics to be successful, they should include specific statements on what exactly the microorganism affects, and the scientific substantiation of the particular health claim should be based on the targeted (general) population.

Trend of Parental Refusal or Delay of Childhood Vaccinations

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meagan Marie Daoust
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
Health Consequences ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Parental Refusal

The healthcare trend of parental refusal or delay of childhood vaccinations will be investigated through a complex Cynefin Framework component in an economic and educational context, allowing patterns to emerge that suggest recommendations of change for the RN role and healthcare system. As a major contributing factor adding complexity to this trend, social media is heavily used for health related knowledge, making it is difficult to determine which information is most trustworthy. Missed opportunities for immunization can result, leading to economic and health consequences for the healthcare system and population. Through analysis of the powerful impact social media has on this evolving trend and public health, an upstream recommendation for RNs to respond with is to utilize reliable social media to the parents’ advantage within practice. The healthcare system should focus on incorporating vaccine-related education into existing programs and classes offered to parents, and implementing new vaccine classes for the public.

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