The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products

The majority of studies examining the effect of nutrition information on food packets (such as the nutrition information panel (NIP), front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) and health claims) have examined each in isolation, even though they often occur together. This study investigated the relationship betwe...

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Main Authors: Talati, Zenobia, Pettigrew, Simone, Hughes, C., Dixon, H., Kelly, B., Ball, K., Miller, C.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27350
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author Talati, Zenobia
Pettigrew, Simone
Hughes, C.
Dixon, H.
Kelly, B.
Ball, K.
Miller, C.
author_facet Talati, Zenobia
Pettigrew, Simone
Hughes, C.
Dixon, H.
Kelly, B.
Ball, K.
Miller, C.
author_sort Talati, Zenobia
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The majority of studies examining the effect of nutrition information on food packets (such as the nutrition information panel (NIP), front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) and health claims) have examined each in isolation, even though they often occur together. This study investigated the relationship between FoPLs and health claims since (i) they both appear on the front of packs and typically receive more attention from consumers than the NIP, (ii) they can convey contradictory messages (i.e., health claims provide information on nutrients that are beneficial to health while FoPLs provide information on nutrients associated with increased health risks) and (iii) there is currently scant research on how consumers trade off between these two sources of information. Ten focus groups (n = 85) explored adults’ and children’s reactions when presented with both a FoPL (the Daily Intake Guide, Multiple Traffic Lights, or the Health Star Rating) and a health claim (nutrient content, general-level-, or high-level). A particular focus was participants’ processing of discrepant information. Participants reported that health claims were more likely to be considered during product evaluations if they were perceived to be trustworthy, relevant and informative. Trust and ease of interpretation were most important for FoPLs, which were more likely than health claims to meet criteria and be considered during product evaluation (especially the Health Star Rating and Multiple Traffic Lights). Results indicate that consumers generally find FoPLs more useful than health claims.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-273502017-09-13T16:08:58Z The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products Talati, Zenobia Pettigrew, Simone Hughes, C. Dixon, H. Kelly, B. Ball, K. Miller, C. The majority of studies examining the effect of nutrition information on food packets (such as the nutrition information panel (NIP), front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) and health claims) have examined each in isolation, even though they often occur together. This study investigated the relationship between FoPLs and health claims since (i) they both appear on the front of packs and typically receive more attention from consumers than the NIP, (ii) they can convey contradictory messages (i.e., health claims provide information on nutrients that are beneficial to health while FoPLs provide information on nutrients associated with increased health risks) and (iii) there is currently scant research on how consumers trade off between these two sources of information. Ten focus groups (n = 85) explored adults’ and children’s reactions when presented with both a FoPL (the Daily Intake Guide, Multiple Traffic Lights, or the Health Star Rating) and a health claim (nutrient content, general-level-, or high-level). A particular focus was participants’ processing of discrepant information. Participants reported that health claims were more likely to be considered during product evaluations if they were perceived to be trustworthy, relevant and informative. Trust and ease of interpretation were most important for FoPLs, which were more likely than health claims to meet criteria and be considered during product evaluation (especially the Health Star Rating and Multiple Traffic Lights). Results indicate that consumers generally find FoPLs more useful than health claims. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27350 10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.05.016 Pergamon fulltext
spellingShingle Talati, Zenobia
Pettigrew, Simone
Hughes, C.
Dixon, H.
Kelly, B.
Ball, K.
Miller, C.
The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products
title The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products
title_full The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products
title_fullStr The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products
title_full_unstemmed The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products
title_short The combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products
title_sort combined effect of front-of-pack nutrition labels and health claims on consumers’ evaluation of food products
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27350