Analysis of Content, Social Networks, and Sentiment of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling in the European Union on Twitter

Abstract

In recent years, concerted political efforts have been made at the national and European Union (EU) level to promote the consumption of healthy foods. The European Commission (EC) expressed the need for a harmonized and mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPL) system at the EU level. The EC will adopt the proposal by the end of 2022. Our research work aims to understand the public discourse on FOPL in the EU via Twitter, by analyzing tweet content, sentiment, and mapping network characteristics. Tweet search and data collection were performed using the Twitter application programming interface (API), with no time or language restrictions. The content was coded with the QRS Nvivo software package and analyzed thematically. Automatic sentiment analysis was performed with QSR Nvivo, and network analysis was performed with Gephi 0.9.2. A total of 4,073 tweets were posted, mostly from the UK, Spain, and France. Themes that have emerged from the discussion on Twitter include the types of food labeling, food industry, healthy vs. unhealthy foods in the context of food labeling, EU regulation, political conflicts, and science and education. Nutri-Score dominated the discussion on Twitter. General topics were perceived negatively by Twitter users with more positive sentiments toward the food industry, while negative sentiments were observed toward the discourse of political conflicts. The network analysis showed that a centralized communication was hardly existed between countries. Our results reveal that the discussion of FOPL on Twitter is limited to a very limited group of people, and it seems necessary to inform a wide range of consumers about existing and upcoming FOPL schemes. Educational programs should empower consumers to understand what a healthy diet is and how it relates to FOPL, regardless of the existing labeling system.

A systematic assessment of the revised Nutri‐Score algorithm: Potentials for the implementation of front‐of‐package nutrition labeling across Europe

“…UPFs can sometimes achieve a better NS grade than less processed foods (Angelino et al, 2023;Ebner et al, 2022;Fedde et al, 2022;Hau & Lange, 2023). This was also commonly reported with reference to Food-based limitations such as oils (n = 10) (Hau & Lange, 2023;Septia Irawan et al, 2022) and cheeses (n = 9) (Ebner et al, 2022;Fialon et al, 2022), which can be less processed than UPFs but often get lower grades, which may indicate a noncompliance of NS with FBDG. Similar arguments were mentioned for beverages (n = 8), where fruit juices usually get a lower NS grade than ultraprocessed drinks with added NNS (Włodarek & Dobrowolski, 2022).…”

“…Our literature review captured 30 papers: 24 original research (Angelino et al, 2023;Braesco et al, 2022;Bryngelsson et al, 2022;Cutroneo et al, 2022;de las Heras-Delgado et al, 2023;Dickie et al, 2022;Ebner et al, 2022;Fedde et al, 2022;Ferreiro et al, 2021;Fialon et al, 2022;Hafner & Pravst, 2021, 2023Huybers & Roodenburg, 2023;Katsouri et al, 2021;Kissock et al, 2022;Konings et al, 2022;Panczyk et al, 2023;Pitt et al, 2023;Pointke & Pawelzik, 2022;Rodriguez-Martin et al, 2023;Septia Irawan et al, 2022;Stiletto & Trestini, 2022;Borg et al, 2021;Valenzuela et al, 2022), 3 communication/correspondence (Carruba et al, 2022;Drewnowski et al, 2021;Hau & Lange, 2023), and 3 review papers (Peonides et al, 2022;van der Bend et al, 2022;Włodarek & Dobrowolski, 2022), originating from 19 countries (including 12 EU member states). The list of reported limitations (n = 20), their connections, and the numbers of mentions are presented in Figure 2.…”

Global narratives on unequal outcomes produced by lockdown in Africa: A social science perspective on the “one-size-fits all” COVID-19 response

“…The findings from this research are also important for the development of behavior change communication campaigns, which could also leverage platforms like Twitter which has been shown to be more effective in disseminating information on issues of public concern than formal communication and marketing ( 38 ). As policymakers and ordinary citizens navigate health threats by drawing upon available evidence and social priorities, it is important to recognize the diversity of needs and the contradictions that can exist around health messaging and epidemic response policies.…”