Consumer attitudes to nutrition information & food labelling

Josephine Wills B.Vet.Med., PhD., MRCVS
Director General, European Food Information Council, Brussels, Belgium.

In some countries, nutrition labelling has been a major instrument for providing consumers with information at the point of purchase, enabling them to make nutritionally appropriate choices. Although consumers claim to use nutrition labels, there are indications that this is not always the case.

In recent years, there has been a particular focus on interpretational aids. One idea has been the distinction between front and back of pack labels, where a simplified message on the front label (‘signposting’) summarises the more complex information that is given on the back of the product. Much of this work has been commissioned by key stakeholders in the European food sector.

Studies from 2003 that have recently been reviewed for EUFIC by Professor Klaus Grunert of the Aarhus School of Business, Denmark. Altogether, 58 relevant papers or reports were identified, of which 13 were in the peer-reviewed literature. Analysis of the studies was guided by a theoretical framework that considered search, exposure, perception, liking, understanding (subjective and objective), inferences and use.

Consumers are generally aware of a link between food and health, and are interested in getting nutrition information from food packages. But getting nutrition information is not the top interest with regard to food. They are more interested in taste, cost, food safety and freshness. In several studies, consumers expressed the view that there may be a trade-off between health and nutrition on one side and price and/or taste on the other, and some rate taste and/or price more important than health and nutrition.

A common finding across the studies was that some demographic groups have a greater interest in nutrition information. Women were generally more interested than men and parents of children living at home, especially pre-teenage children, were more interested than adults without children, although in some studies young single women were interested in nutrition for weight control. Older informants were more interested due to increased concerns about their health, although they may have greater difficulties in processing the information. There also appeared to be geographic/cultural effects with demonstrable differences between north and south Europe. Consumers in France, Greece and Spain were less enthusiastic about the prospects of receiving more nutrition information.

Consumers are more interested in nutrition information for some products than others. In several studies, they expressed the view that nutrition information is less relevant for fresh products like fruits and vegetables and fresh meat. Reservations were also expressed about products generally regarded as treats and this was especially clear in studies dealing specifically with chocolate. Products where interest was greatest were processed products, such as ready meals.

Informants often expressed interest in nutritional information for when buying a product for the first time. They often said they were not interested when they are time pressured, as is often the case when food shopping. Fat, calories and sugar are the nutrients in which people are most interested.

Understanding of nutrition labels is hampered by technical terminology, numerical calculations, and, for some people, percentages. Some nutritional terms (fat, sugar, calories, vitamins, salt) are better understood than others (saturated fat, sodium, fatty acids, cholesterol). Four major conclusions emerge from this review:

• There is widespread interest for nutrition information on food packages. Consumers generally understand the link between food and health, and many are interested in using information about the nutritional properties of the food they eat. However, the degree of interest differs between consumers and varies across situations and products. In addition, it can conflict with other interests in food, notably taste, traditional eating, and indulgence.

• Consumers like the idea of simplified front-of-pack information but differ in their liking for the various formats. These include health logos, ‘traffic lights’, GDA-based systems and energy labels. Differences can be related to conflicting preferences for ease of use, being fully informed, and not being pressurised into behaving in a particular way.

• Most consumers claim they understand the most common signposting formats and they can replay key information presented to them in an experimental situation.

• We have little insight into how labelling information is actually used in a real world shopping situation, and how it affects consumers’ dietary patterns. What consumers say they do is very different to what they actually do, and many over-report their reading and use of nutrition information. Understanding on-pack nutrition information in isolation is very different from understanding what this information means in the context of a weekly shopping excursion or composing a balanced diet. Addressing this last point is a key priority for future research.

Reference:

Grunert K G and Wills J M (2007) J. Public Health 15:385 – 399 “A Review of european research on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels”