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5 Consumer Use and Understanding of Front-of-Package Labeling Systems
Pages 43-58

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From page 43...
... In assessing the evidence and deriving its conclusions about consumer use and understanding of FOP systems the committee included information from applied marketing research, which provided insight into various nutrition rating systems and symbols that was not available in the peer-reviewed literature, particularly into what type of FOP symbols consumers might use. Information provided by FDA, GMA-IFIC, and other industry sources (discussed below)
From page 44...
... Because it had not been subjected to a peer-review process, this work, positioned at the lower tier of the hierarchy, was given substantially less weight in the committee's deliberations. Peer-Reviewed Field Experiments The strongest evidence to demonstrate how an FOP system will operate in a real-world shopping environment comes from actually implementing the system on supermarket shelf tags or products, and observing via sales data the impact that it has on consumer food choice and purchase decisions.
From page 45...
... Compared to the "no nutrition labels" condition, when the labels were present there was a decrease in overall sales of the labeled, healthier products and a non-significant but similar in magnitude increase in the sales of the less healthy products. Again, this study was conducted on a single product category, and the findings differ from those of Levy et al.
From page 46...
... Sales-based market shares Shoppers, especially those were measured as the on special diets, reported percentage of store unit using the shelf tags to sales by category choose products. Sacks et al., 2009 What impact has Comparison of weekly Introduction of TL Change in sales compared A small sample of products the Food Standards product sales as a labeling to ready meals in the 4 weeks before and over a short period of time Authority- percentage of total and sandwiches in the after introduction of TL showed that sales of ready recommended TL sales by food product United Kingdom labels meals increased following labeling format had on category before and introduction of TL labeling.
From page 47...
... Which signpost Choice experiment of a Task 1: Pairwise Consumers' ability to Signpost labels were more Westenhoefer, 2009 label format enables convenience sample in comparison of foods differentiate healthier helpful than no labels for consumers to Germany to identify healthier from less healthy identifying healthier foods identify healthier choices products by food label and the MTL performed from less healthy format better than the %GDA products? Task 2: Simulated and simple tick systems.
From page 48...
... Study 2: Checkmark; stars; multiple Official endorsements tend checkmarks; % GDA to increase the credibility of with and without a labeling format. additional information Kelly et al., 2009 Which FOP labeling Choice experiment of a Participants responded Ability to discriminate The TL system was the system is most effective convenience sample in to questions about healthier from less most effective for assisting in assisting consumers Australia mock packages healthy products by consumers to identify to make healthier, more representing healthier label condition and food healthier products and make informed food choices?
From page 49...
... Survey participants' use of nutrition label was similar ethnic groups to use Zealand questions included nutrition labels, reasons across ethnic and income nutrition labels? nutrition label for non-use of labels, groups, but the ability to information, special basic understanding use nutrition information to 2.
From page 50...
... food product using the information GDA label Research on Consumer Preference van Kleef et al., 1. What is the extent Analysis of previously Varied functional food Participants rated all Participants preferred 2005 to which consumers collected data from concepts were offered mini-concepts on four physiology-based health perceive health a choice experiment as a set of 100 claim- dependent measures: benefits over psychology/ claims appropriate using Dutch shoppers carrier "mini-concepts" uniqueness, attractiveness, behavior-based benefits.
From page 51...
... information correlated with low prominence unit price and high prominence price information. Positive consumer preferences for provision of nutrition information on grocery store shelves suggest that stores and shoppers can benefit from provision of shelf-label information.
From page 52...
... (2010) determined from their studies of consumer label use, nutrition knowl edge, and consumer food choices that knowledgeable consumers are more likely than other consumers, particularly price-conscious consumers, to choose healthier foods from among a variety of product options.
From page 53...
... Participants, selected from four European countries, evaluated healthy and less healthy foods from the same product category. In the first part of the study, six labeling formats were used: Healthier Choice Tick, Health Protection Factor, smiley faces, stars, Multiple Traffic Light (MTL)
From page 54...
... In the choice experiments, color images of shelf labels were displayed below a picture of a food product. The images presented variations of price information, unit price, and nutrition information (total fat, saturated fat, calories, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium either with "low" or "high" prominence)
From page 55...
... The American Heart Association provided data from a field-based study that highlighted the Heart Check program on shelf tags of products participating in the program. 2 The Heart Check logo on the shelf tag was as large as or even larger than the original shelf tag in the provided pictures.
From page 56...
... Given the paucity of evidence from the peer-reviewed literature, the additional evidence obtained from applied market research, including that of FDA as well as the British Market Research Bureau and food manufactures, provided additional insight, not available from other sources, into how consumers perceive and use FOP labeling. Conclusions The committee concluded that research on FOP symbol systems is limited.
From page 57...
... Presented at Workshop on Consumer Behavior Research and Front of Package Nutrition Rating systems and Symbols: What Do Consumers Know, Understand and Use? Institute of Medicine.


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