Stop or go? How is the UK food industry responding to front-of-pack nutrition labels?

Abstract

Food nutrition labels have been used for over a decade to aid consumers in making more informed diet choices and to potentially reduce societal costs from diet-related diseases and health conditions. While there is some evidence of the effectiveness of nutrition labels in changing consumption patterns, the scale of such improvements have been marginal. This has led certain government agencies to consider alternative forms of nutrition information. One such approach is front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labels which provide simple, easily accessible information on a limited number of key nutrients. The use of FOP labels may facilitate healthier diets by influencing consumer behaviour and by providing an incentive for industry to formulate healthier products. This paper examines the adoption of FOP schemes by UK retailers and manufacturers. Label information for more than 5,500 food products released for sale from 2003 through 2009 were collected from a real-time food innovation resource (Mintel-Global New Product Database) and analyzed based on level of FOP adoption and nutrition profile. Food categories in the analysis included: bread, cakes, cereal, meat products, pastries, pizzas, prepared meals, sandwiches, and sweet biscuits. Binary and ordinal logistic regression models were used to calculate the likelihood of use of various "levels" of FOP labelling as a function of category, retailer/manufacturer brand, and nutritional attributes. Food products introduced by retailers, in more recent years and in categories that were targeted by FSA were more likely to carry an FOP label. In meat, pastry dish and prepared meal categories, increased sodium content decreased odds of use of traffic light label use, relative to guideline daily allowance (GDA) or no FOP label. However, no other nutrition variables were significant in either the pooled or category specific models. Discussion includes possible policy options to optimise manufacturer response, as well as implications for evolving mandatory FOP labelling proposals at the EU level.

Nutrient profiling and food prices: what is the cost of choosing healthier products?

“…Nevertheless, our findings suggest that food manufacturers may choose not to display the HSR on nutritionally inferior products, aiming to prevent discouraging consumers from purchasing their product. These findings are consistent with prior reports that indicate that voluntary implementation of FOPL generally results in inconsistent uptake of labelling systems (14)(15)(16) . To ensure that consumers are provided with consistent information across product ranges to make informed food choices, making HSR labelling a mandatory requirement should be considered.…”

Nudging Consumers toward Better Food Choices: Policy Approaches to Changing Food Consumption Behaviors

“…Public information efforts have nudged the food industry to make notable improvements, such as removal of trans fat from many products. Other improvements, such as reducing the sodium content in prepared foods, could have important public health effects and public-private efforts, such as the U.S. National Salt Reduction Initiative (New York City, 2010) and the United Kingdom sodium reduction campaign (van Camp, Hooker, & de Souza Monteiro, 2010;van Camp, de Souza Monteiro, & Hooker, 2011), could play an important role in incentivizing such changes.…”

Relationship between Children's BMI and Parents’ Preferences for Kids’ Yogurts with and without Front of Package Health Signals

“…These additional labels can also support already existing labels on nutrition information (Nutrition Facts Panel) in that they lower the cognitive burden of decision making (e.g., Zhu, Lopez, & Liu, 2016). Also, it is in line with van Camp et al (2012), who stress that the food industry can use labels to provide specific information about food products to target consumer groups and drive demand for their products. Based upon our evidence, there is an opportunity for food manufacturers to increase the demand for their healthy foods among parents with children who are overweight or obese.…”

“…Previous research focusing on strategies and marketing efforts to improve adult consumer dietary choices has shown that front-of-package (FOP) nutrition information (e.g., trafficlight labels) and health claims can influence purchasing habits (Sacks, Rayner, & Swinhurn, 2009;van Camp, D'Souza Monteiro, & Hooker, 2012;Wansink, 2003;2004). As well, research has shown that simple front-of-package logos such as the "Pick the Tick" developed by the National Heart Foundation can affect consumer food choices and producer food formulations (Mueller & Umberger, 2010;Williams, McMahon, & Boustead, 2003;Young & Swinburn, 2002).…”

“…Front-of-package labels have emerged as an important marketing and branding tool for food manufacturers. As discussed in the review by van Camp et al (2012), producers using labels to provide information and transparency about their products can increase consumer loyalty and facilitate the development of tailored product lines targeting specific consumer groups.…”