The impact of positive and reduction health claims on consumers’ food choices

Tønnesen, Mathilde T.; Hansen, Susanne; Laasholdt, Amanda V.; Lähteenmäki, Liisa

doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104526

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Recent research has highlighted that the influence of a claim is dependent on the type of claim and product as well as the participants' characteristics 26 . This pattern was observed in the present study, where participants indicated that they would place more emphasis on content claims on products such as muesli bars compared with milk.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Consumer perceptions of nutrient content claims in Australia: A qualitative study

Thompson,

McMahon,

Watson

et al. 2023

J Human Nutrition Diet

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BackgroundNutrition and health claims influence consumer purchasing. Claims include content claims, which refer to the amount of a nutrient contained in a product, and health claims, which refer to health benefits of foods or nutrients in a product. Products that display a health claim must meet the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion (NPSC). The present study aimed to explore consumer perceptions of content claims used on food and beverage labelling and advertisements.MethodsSemi‐structured focus groups were conducted with Australian consumers. Analysis involved an inductive, reflexive approach to thematic analysis.ResultsSix focus groups involving 26 participants were conducted. Four main interconnected themes were generated: (1) complex factors influence food choice; (2) content claim scepticism; (3) the difference between content and health claims is unclear; and (4) the regulation of content claims is not common knowledge. Content claims were used, although generally viewed through a lens of scepticism and mistrust, and seen as a promotional tool for the food industry. Product complexity appeared to increase content claim use as a result of consumer uncertainty of the content of complex products, such as ultraprocessed foods. Most participants were aware that content and health claims were in some way regulated. Overall, they did not know further detail, including the relevant regulatory body.ConclusionsFor content claims to support the consumer they need to be accurate and their use limited to healthier foods. This can be achieved by requiring products with content claims to meet NPSC thresholds, as required for products making health claims.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Consumer perceptions of nutrient content claims in Australia: A qualitative study

Thompson,

McMahon,

Watson

et al. 2023

J Human Nutrition Diet

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“…This was supported by a recent study in Denmark showing products defined as unhealthy and health neutral were chosen less frequently if they carried reduction claims (e.g. 'Reduced salt content', 'Contains less sugar' and 'Fat free') compared with nonclaiming products (104) .…”

Section: Evidence From Scientific Studiesmentioning

confidence: 88%

Nature of the evidence base and strengths, challenges and recommendations in the area of nutrition and health claims: a position paper from the Academy of Nutrition Sciences

Ashwell¹,

Hickson

Stanner

et al. 2022

Br J Nutr

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The regulation of health claims for foods by the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation is intended, primarily, to protect consumers from unscrupulous claims by ensuring claims are accurate and substantiated with high quality scientific evidence. In this Position Paper, the Academy of Nutrition Sciences uniquely recognises the strengths of the transparent, rigorous scientific assessment by independent scientists of the evidence underpinning claims in Europe, an approach now independently adopted in UK. Further strengths are the separation of risk assessment from risk management, and the extensive guidance for those submitting claims. Nevertheless, four main challenges in assessing the scientific evidence and context remain: (i) defining a healthy population, (ii) undertaking efficacy trials for foods, (iii) developing clearly defined biomarkers for some trial outcomes, and (iv) ensuring the composition of a food bearing a health claim is consistent with generally accepted nutrition principles. Although the Regulation aims to protect the consumer from harm, we identify some challenges from consumer research: (i) making the wording of some health claims more easily understood and (ii) understanding the implications of the misperceptions around products bearing nutrition or health claims. Recommendations are made to overcome these challenges. Further, the Academy recommends that a dialogue is developed with the relevant national bodies about Article 12(c) in the Regulation. This should further clarify the GB Guidance to avoid the current non-level playing field between health professionals and untrained ‘influencers’ who are not covered by this Article about the communication of authorised claims within commercial communications.

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“…According to an online survey in Taiwan, 40.0% of participants thought products that claimed “no added sugar” were healthier, and more than half of them believed that products claiming “no added sugar” were more natural, healthier, and lower in sugar content ( 60 ). A Danish study also found that nutrition and health claims led consumers to believe that the product was healthier, especially when added to unhealthy products such as potato chips, pizzas, and cakes ( 61 ). A Belgian study on teenagers’ perceptions of health marketing found that teenagers did not think products with fruit images were healthier, but were more likely to buy them because they thought that kind of product tasted better ( 62 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sugar labeling information and online marketing strategies for hand-shaken tea drinks in northern Taiwan

Liu,

Wong,

Chung

et al. 2023

Front. Nutr.

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BackgroundSugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are the main cause of excessive sugar intake and increased health risks. Food companies usually use social media to market SSBs in order to increase consumers’ purchase intentions. To reduce excessive added sugar consumption from hand-shaken tea drinks, Taiwan has implemented a mandatory policy requiring clear sugar content labeling. This study aimed to investigate the sugar label information and online marketing strategies for hand-shaken tea drinks in northern Taiwan.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, content analysis was employed to investigate the sugar labeling information and the current situation of online marketing in hand-shaken tea drink brands based in northern Taiwan. Seventy-two hand-shaken tea drink brands’ stores were visited to record their sugar labeling presentation methods, with brands lacking labeling, presenting incomplete labeling, or not offering customized sugar levels being excluded, resulting in 60 brands being chosen for the subsequent data collection process. The sugar and energy contents in 1,581 hand-shaken tea drinks were recorded and calculated. Subsequently, the sugar contents were assessed in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) sugar recommendations (25 g/day), warning label criteria, and Taiwan’s regulations for low-sugar packaged beverages. Seven brands that had high online impressions were further selected and their marketing strategies in 560 Facebook posts were analyzed.ResultsThe presentation methods of labeling varied among the 60 brands, and only 42 brands had obvious and easily accessible labeling. The most common labeling presentation method was posters (n = 28). After converting the sugar content of half-sugar and low-sugar hand-shaken tea drinks, it was found that 60.2% of half-sugar beverages and 13.0% of low-sugar beverages exceeded 25 g of sugar per cup. Over 90% of brands had Facebook and Instagram accounts. The top marketing strategies for tea drink brands on Facebook were specific beverage information, brand information, and nutrition and health marketing. Most posts promoted sugar-sweetened beverages.ConclusionNot all hand-shaken tea drink brands in this study followed Taiwan’s labeling regulations. Moreover, high sugar contents in hand-shaken tea drinks labeled as half-sugar and low-sugar could potentially lead people to unconsciously consume excessive amounts of sugar. Future research should explore the impact of online marketing strategies on SSBs consumption behavior and ways to mitigate it among the Taiwanese public.

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The impact of positive and reduction health claims on consumers’ food choices

Cited by 9 publications

References 64 publications

Consumer perceptions of nutrient content claims in Australia: A qualitative study

Consumer perceptions of nutrient content claims in Australia: A qualitative study

Nature of the evidence base and strengths, challenges and recommendations in the area of nutrition and health claims: a position paper from the Academy of Nutrition Sciences

Sugar labeling information and online marketing strategies for hand-shaken tea drinks in northern Taiwan

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