Determinants of Nutrition Facts Table Use by Chinese Consumers for Nutritional Value Comparisons

The nutrition facts table is a nutrition labeling tool designed to inform consumers of food nutritional contents and enable them to make healthier choices by comparing the nutritional values of similar foods. However, its adoption level is considerably low in China. This study employed the Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) algorithm to explore the factors associated with respondents’ adoption of nutrition facts table to compare the nutritional values of similar foods. Data were gathered through a nationally representative online survey of 1500 samples. Results suggested that consumers’ comprehension of the nutrition facts table was a direct explanatory factor for its use. The usage was also indirectly explained by people’s nutrition knowledge, the usage of nutrition facts table by their relatives and friends, and their focus on a healthy diet. Therefore, to increase the use of nutrition facts table by Chinese consumers, the first consideration should be given to enhancing consumers’ comprehension of the labeling

Online Consumer Survey Comparing Different Front-of-Pack Labels in Greece

According to the WHO, front-of-pack nutrition labeling provides simplified nutrition information in the form of symbols, colors or words that can help consumers understand the nutritional quality of food, thus leading them to healthier food choices. It is considered of the utmost importance to explore the knowledge and understanding of consumers about this form of nutrition labeling. The aim of this study was to investigate the understanding and perceptions of Greek consumers in response to five different front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPLs): the Multiple Traffic Lights, Health Star Rating System, Guideline Daily Amounts, Warning Symbols and Nutri-Score. From April 2021 to June 2021, 1278 participants from Greece took part in an online survey where they were asked to rank three products according to their nutritional quality. The classification process was performed first without FoPLs and then with FoPLs. The ability to classify products according to their nutritional quality was evaluated with multinomial logistic regression models, and the Nutri-Score label presented greater improvements when compared to the GDA label for Greek consumers. The Nutri-Score seemed to better help the Greek consumers rank foods according to their nutritional value.

NUTRI SCORE: PROŠIRENO OZNAČAVANjENUTRITIVNE VREDNOSTI HRANE

EU Regulation no. 1169/2011 contains rules for informing consumers, thus giving them access to basic information, such as a declaration of the nutritional value of the product or a list of ingredients. In order to facilitate the understanding of this information, other forms of expression and presentation or voluntary information may be provided, in addition to the mandatory nutrition declaration in accordance with Articles 35 to 37 of this Regulation. In that sense, the French Ministry of Health has created the „Nutri Score“ label. „Nutri Score“ is a system for marking the nutritional profile of food on the front of the packaging with the letters and colors of traffic lights. Although this logo has been used for years in some EU member states, such as France, Belgium and Spain, the preconditions for the legal use of this model of nutrition labeling were first created in Germany with the adoption of the Regulation on Amendments to Food Information. The paper will first provide an overview of the functioning of the „Nutri Score“ label. In the continuation of the paper, the author will deal with various legal issues - especially the issues of application of trademarks and regulations on fair trade.

Analysis of Chinese Consumers’ Nutrition Facts Table Use Behavior Based on Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Model

The nutrition facts table is a nutrition labeling tool designed to help consumers understand the nutritional content of food and make informed food choices. However, the utilization rate of the nutrition facts table has been low in China since its introduction in 2013. This study employed structural equation modeling to investigate consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to the nutrition facts table by using an online survey of 930 valid samples from 31 provinces in China based on the knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) model. The analysis revealed that most respondents had a positive attitude, but not a good level of knowledge or practice in their use of the labeling. Respondents’ knowledge about the nutrition facts table directly affected their attitude, through which it could then affect their practice, whereas knowledge played an indirect role in nutrition labeling use. The results confirmed that the KAP model is suitable for explaining consumers’ use of nutrition labels in China, and that the first step to promoting labeling usage is to enrich consumers’ knowledge on the nutrition facts table.

Impact of front-of-pack labels on the perceived healthfulness of a sweetened fruit drink: a randomized experiment in 5 countries

Objective: Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labeling is a globally-recommended strategy to encourage healthier food choices. We evaluated the effect of FOP labels on the perceived healthfulness of a sweetened fruit drink in an international sample of adult consumers. Design: Six-arm randomized controlled experiment to examine the impact of FOP labels (No label control, Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), Multiple Traffic Lights (MTLs), the Health Star Ratings (HSR), Health Warning Labels (HWLs), and ‘High-in’ Warning Labels (HIWLs)) on the perceived healthfulness of the drink. Linear regression models by country examined healthfulness perceptions on FOP nutrition labels, testing for interactions by demographic characteristics. Setting: Online survey in 2018 among participants from Australia, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom (UK), and United States (US). Participants: Adults (18 years, n=22,140) Results: Compared to control, HIWLs had the greatest impact in lowering perceived healthfulness (Betas from -0.62 to -1.71) across all countries. The HIWL and the HSR had a similar effect in Australia. Other labels were effective in decreasing the perceived healthfulness of the drink within some countries only, but to a lower extent. The GDAs did not reduce perceived healthfulness in most countries. In the UK, the effect of HIWL differed by age group, with greater impact among older participants (>40y). There were no other variations across key demographic characteristics. Conclusions: HIWLs, which communicates clear, non-quantitative messages about high levels of nutrient of concern, demonstrated the greatest efficacy to decrease the perceived healthfulness of a sweetened fruit drink across countries. This effect was similar across demographic characteristics.

Guilt and the Consumption of Products with an Unhealthy Image

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nutrition labeling on consumers’ guilt when they consumed products with an unhealthy image. The first investigation was conducted to examine direct effect according to the types of nutrition labeling (adding healthy ingredients/reducing unhealthy ingredients) by independent samples t-test. The findings show that consumers felt less guilty when the number of unhealthy ingredients was reduced, compared to when healthy ingredients were added. The second investigation tested the effects of goal activation types (utilitarian/hedonic) and nutrition labeling on consumers’ guilt by independent samples t-test and ANOVA. Goal activation was added as an independent variable, and hypothetical scenarios and stimulants were used. The experiment was designed with a focus on goal activation (utilitarian/hedonic) × nutrition labeling (adding healthy ingredient/reducing unhealthy ingredient). The findings reveal that the utilitarian goal activation group felt less guilty about the products with the reduction in the number of unhealthy ingredients than the products with the addition of healthy ingredients. The hedonic goal activation group felt less guilty about the products with the addition of positive nutrients compared to the products with the reduction in the number of negative nutrients. The third investigation tested consumer guilt in situations that create anxiety about food by independent samples t-test and ANOVA, based on Study 2. Unlike in Study 2, there was no interaction effect between product-nutrition labelling and goal activation. These results suggest that, when consumer anxiety increases, in relation to unhealthy foods that already invoke guilt and anxiety, the motivation—namely, goal activation when consuming food—plays a main role in causing anxiety, regardless of nutrition. Based on these experimental results, the investigator discussed the academic and practical implications of the present study. Finally, a couple of proposals were made for the direction of future study.

EXPRESS: What Exactly Is Marketing and Public Policy? Insights for JPPM Researchers

In this JPPM article for the 40th Anniversary of the Journal of Public Policy … Marketing, the authors first share what is meant by “policy,” “public policy,” and “marketing and public policy” for researchers in our field. The authors then offer examples of JPPM research informing policy across different stages of the policy making process: problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation. They also discuss important sources of public policy (e.g., federal, state, and international agencies; self-regulation; the courts; nonprofits; society; industry standards; company policies; personal ethics) and their role in the marketing and public policy process. The authors then offer JPPM application examples (e.g., consumer protection; anti-trust/competition; vulnerability; diversity, equity, and inclusion; nutrition labeling; addiction, cannabis, and anti-drug research; tobacco warning labeling and education; and privacy and technology) and share ideas for developing research that contributes to the marketing and public policy discipline and in making a positive difference in society and people's lives.

The Influence of Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling on Consumer Behavior and Product Reformulation

Countries worldwide have implemented mandatory or voluntary front-of-package nutrition labeling systems. We provide a narrative review of ( a) real-world evaluations of front-of-package nutrition labels that analyze objective sales data and ( b) studies that objectively assess product reformulation in response to a front-of-package nutrition label implementation. We argue that there is sufficient scientific evidence to recommend that governments implement mandatory front-of-package nutrition labeling systems to improve population health. We also present a conceptual framework to describe front-of-package label influence and provide recommendations for the optimal label design, emphasizing that labeling systems should be highly visible and salient, be simple and easy to understand, leverage automatic associations, and integrate informational and emotional messaging. The existing research suggests that Guideline Daily Amount labels should be avoided and that the Health Star Rating and Nutri-Score systems are promising but that systems with warning labels like the one in Chile are likely to produce the largest public health benefits. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nutrition, Volume 41 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Toward a Healthy and Environmentally Sustainable Campus Food Environment: A Scoping Review of Postsecondary Food Interventions

ABSTRACT Interventions are urgently needed to transform the food system and shift population eating patterns toward those consistent with human health and environmental sustainability. Postsecondary campuses offer a naturalistic setting to trial interventions to improve the health of students and provide insight into interventions that could be scaled up in other settings. However, the current state of the evidence on interventions to support healthy and environmentally sustainable eating within postsecondary settings is not well understood. A scoping review of food- and nutrition-related interventions implemented and evaluated on postsecondary campuses was conducted to determine the extent to which they integrate considerations related to human health and/or environmental sustainability, as well as to synthesize the nature and effectiveness of interventions and to identify knowledge gaps in the literature. MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL, Scopus, and ERIC were searched to identify articles describing naturalistic campus food interventions published in English from January 2015 to December 2019. Data were extracted from 38 peer-reviewed articles, representing 37 unique interventions, and synthesized according to policy domains within the World Cancer Research Foundation's NOURISHING framework. Most interventions were focused on supporting human health, whereas considerations related to environmental sustainability were minimal. Interventions to support human health primarily sought to increase nutrition knowledge or to make complementary shifts in food environments, such as through nutrition labeling at point of purchase. Interventions to support environmental sustainability often focused on reducing food waste and few emphasized consumption patterns with lower environmental impacts. The implementation of integrated approaches considering the complexity and interconnectivity of human and planetary health is needed. Such approaches must go beyond the individual to alter the structural determinants that shape our food system and eating patterns.