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Volume 18
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Abstract

Food Labels: Trends in Use of Nutrition and Health Claims on New Zealand Foods and Beverages †

by
Julie North
1,
Sara Collie
1,
Kelsey Paterson
1,
Libby Hattersley
1,
Evelyn Mete
2 and
Donnell Alexander
2,*
1
Foodcom, Richmond 7020, New Zealand
2
New Zealand Food Safety, Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand 2022, Wellington, New Zealand, 1–2 December 2022.
Med. Sci. Forum 2023, 18(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018031
Published: 6 April 2023
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand 2022)
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Nutrition and health claims have been regulated by Standard 1.2.7 of the Food Standards Code since 2016. Standard 1.2.7 was introduced in 2013, with a three-year transition period. This study aims to evaluate the impact of Standard 1.2.7 by a) identifying the number of nutrition and health claims across 16 product categories, and b) identifying changes in the use of claims since the introduction of the Standard by comparing the present findings against those of previous similar surveys (in 2014/15 and 2016/7). Packaged food labels (700) were randomly selected from 16 prespecified categories in GS1 NZ’s On Pack label database, representative of foods and beverages available in New Zealand retail. Labels were assessed for the presence of nutrition and health claims, and against regulations. A total of 44% of products had at least one nutrition content claim (NCC) or general level health claim (GLHC). Since 2016/17, the proportion of products carrying claims increased among the categories “meat and meat products”, “dairy and dairy products” and “eggs”. Among the remaining 13 categories, the proportion of claims decreased or remained the same. NCCs appeared in 43% of products, but among categories this ranged from 10% (alcohol) to 70% (special-purpose foods). The three most common types of NCCs (in descending order) were about vitamins (mostly vitamin C and B vitamins), “gluten free” and minerals (mostly iron and calcium). In comparison with 2016/17, NCCs regarding vitamins, minerals, sugar and protein were more common, while NCCs for dietary fibre, sodium and fat (including cholesterol) were less common. “Gluten free claims” remain consistently popular. Individual use of GLHCs has increased since 2016/17 (6% compared with 3%), with the highest numbers in “special purpose foods” (40%). Further analysis of these survey data will reveal the proportion of claims that meet the regulatory requirements and identify areas requiring further guidance.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, D.A.; methodology, D.A. and J.N.; formal analysis, J.N., S.C. and K.P.; investigation, J.N., S.C., K.P., D.A. and E.M.; data curation, J.N. and L.H.; writing—original draft preparation, E.M.; writing—review and editing, D.A., J.N., S.C., E.M., L.H. and K.P.; project administration, D.A.; funding acquisition, D.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries (Agreement Number 406664).

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

Foodcom is a consultancy to food industries and companies. J.N. chairs the Health and Regulatory Committee of the Food and Grocery Council as a board member.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

North, J.; Collie, S.; Paterson, K.; Hattersley, L.; Mete, E.; Alexander, D. Food Labels: Trends in Use of Nutrition and Health Claims on New Zealand Foods and Beverages. Med. Sci. Forum 2023, 18, 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018031

AMA Style

North J, Collie S, Paterson K, Hattersley L, Mete E, Alexander D. Food Labels: Trends in Use of Nutrition and Health Claims on New Zealand Foods and Beverages. Medical Sciences Forum. 2023; 18(1):31. https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018031

Chicago/Turabian Style

North, Julie, Sara Collie, Kelsey Paterson, Libby Hattersley, Evelyn Mete, and Donnell Alexander. 2023. "Food Labels: Trends in Use of Nutrition and Health Claims on New Zealand Foods and Beverages" Medical Sciences Forum 18, no. 1: 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/msf2023018031

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