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Food Nutrition Labels in Relation to Diet and Public Health...
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Food Nutrition Labels in Relation to Diet and Public Health (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Policies and Education for Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 August 2024) | Viewed by 5522

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Robert Hamlin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Marketing, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
Interests: food consumer behaviour; package design and communication; food marketing; nutritional labels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food labels are a tool used to promote public health by providing information which allows consumers to make informed dietary choices. At the same time, food labels may represent a marketing device, influencing consumers’ perception of food quality.

This Special Issue looks to offer a platform for research in this area that is important but is underrepresented in the regular issues of Nutrients or any other academic food journal.

It welcomes contributions from any qualified individual or group within the food sector that is based upon original research, reviews of the literature, and evidence-based commentaries focusing on:

Measurement of the absolute impact (or not) of established FoP systems on consumer behavior and choice. The Editors are particularly interested in experimental/observational research that examines the impact of FOP labels on unprompted consumer evaluations/choice of the food products that carry them.

Measurement of the relative impact (one on the other) of established FoP systems on consumer behavior and choice. The Editors are particularly interested in any research relating to warning labels.

Research on the impact (or not) of FoP labels on manufacturer behaviors such as food product formulation, design, and marketing. The Editors are particularly interested in the relationship between FoP labels and commercial marketing communications, such as commercial brands, and package design features, such as cartoon characters and health/nutrition claims.

The consumer learning and choice mechanisms that are used to evaluate food nutritional labels and the products that carry them. The Editors are particularly interested in experimental research on FoP labels with regard to noncognitive consumer learning and choice processes.

The relationship between the FoP label system and specific consumer cultures, attitudes, or beliefs. The Editors are particularly interested in research (including evidence-based commentaries) on the relationship between FoP label systems and industrial strategy and/or regional, national, and international politics and/or regional, national, and international regulatory development.

The Editors welcome contributions from academic researchers and informed individuals/groups participating in the food sector in other roles. The Editors are not directly interested in research that examines nutrient profiles of food products relating to FOP labels, as these are already well represented in the regular issues of Nutrients; however, they will consider such submissions if they are clearly pertinent to one of the headings above.

Potential contributors are welcome/recommended to discuss their ideas with the Editor below prior to submission. This is particularly the case if the contribution is a non-academic one and/or an evidence-based commentary.

Dr. Robert Hamlin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nutritional labeling
  • front-of-pack (FoP) label
  • food policy
  • consumer behavior
  • nutrition policy

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 2931 KiB  
Article
Which Consumers Change Their Food Choices in Response to Carbon Footprint Labels? The Role of Political Ideology and Other Socio-Demographic Factors
by Julia Diana Lenk, Pierre Chandon and Shemal Doshi
Nutrients 2025, 17(8), 1321; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17081321 - 10 Apr 2025
Viewed by 340
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The effectiveness of eco-labels in encouraging more sustainable food choices varies across studies. We investigate whether consumers’ characteristics may explain this heterogeneity in the context of carbon footprint labeling by studying the moderating role of sociodemographic factors (age, gender, ethnicity, occupation), [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The effectiveness of eco-labels in encouraging more sustainable food choices varies across studies. We investigate whether consumers’ characteristics may explain this heterogeneity in the context of carbon footprint labeling by studying the moderating role of sociodemographic factors (age, gender, ethnicity, occupation), socioeconomic status (education and subjective socioeconomic position), place of residence (rural to urban), and political ideology. Methods: We manipulated the proportion of carbon-labeled products in two incentive-compatible and pre-registered choice experiments. The first (n = 715) asked consumers to shop for instant meal products in an online grocery store containing a food category’s complete product assortment. The second (n = 1233) forced consumers to make tradeoffs between product preferences and carbon emissions in two consecutive food choices for cut fruit products, one without and another with carbon labels. To capture potential lasting effects, we collected purchase intention data from the same respondents several months after the labeling exposure in both studies. Results: Across both studies, increasing the proportion of products with a carbon label led liberals and centrists to choose lower-emission foods but had minimal or no impact on conservatives (although it never backfired). None of the other individual characteristics moderated the effects of labeling after controlling for political ideology. However, a young age, a low subjective socioeconomic position, and an urban residence indirectly improved responsiveness to labeling by predicting a more liberal political ideology. The labeling effects observed for liberals persisted for four months but not longer. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the critical moderating role of political ideology and provide actionable insights to improve the targeting and design of sustainability interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Nutrition Labels in Relation to Diet and Public Health (2nd Edition))
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22 pages, 796 KiB  
Article
Developing Food Consumer Attitudes towards Ionizing Radiation and Genetic Modification
by Iwan Junaedi, Lisa S. McNeill and Robert P. Hamlin
Nutrients 2024, 16(20), 3427; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16203427 - 10 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1367
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study investigates consumer perceptions and acceptance of ionizing radiation (IoR) as a perishable food stabilisation technology. Consumers’ preferences influence the success of emerging food technologies. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of consumers’ behavioural responses and their development over time is essential. Methods: [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study investigates consumer perceptions and acceptance of ionizing radiation (IoR) as a perishable food stabilisation technology. Consumers’ preferences influence the success of emerging food technologies. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of consumers’ behavioural responses and their development over time is essential. Methods: This research employs a mixed-methods approach, surveying 313 young adults in New Zealand on their views of both irradiated (IoR) and genetically modified (GM) highly perishable foods. This study explored both participants’ attitudes towards these two technologies and also their willingness to consume these foods. Results: The qualitative research revealed a preponderance of “affective” associations over “cognitive” associations with regard to both IoR and GM technologies. The quantitative research indicated that where consumers were given time to reflect, evaluations of GM improved, while those of IoR did not (p < 0.01). There was a gender divide, with females being more positively inclined towards GM and males towards IoR (p < 0.01). Both technologies were significantly disfavoured compared to non-treated products (p < 0.01). There was a significant discrimination when the two technologies were presented as concepts and as products. GM was more favourably received as a concept than as a product (p < 0.01), while IoR was disfavoured in either form. The two food neophobia scales that were tested showed a divergence in performance, with the more affectively based scale showing a higher level of correlation with behaviour. Conclusions: This research reveals that a largely affective (visceral) distrust of both IoR and GM exists within this young food consumer sample. As it is affective in nature, this position will be very resistant to education efforts, particularly if they are “cognitively” based. However, a significant softening of these affective attitudes towards GM products indicates that such efforts may be effective, given time and investment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Nutrition Labels in Relation to Diet and Public Health (2nd Edition))
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14 pages, 3165 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Validity of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels for Evaluating the Healthiness of Mediterranean Food Choices: A Global Comparison
by Julia Fernandez-Alonso, María del Mar Lamas-Mendoza, Nidia Rodriguez-Sanchez, Stuart D. R. Galloway and Leyre Gravina
Nutrients 2024, 16(17), 2925; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16172925 - 1 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1925
Abstract
In response to growing public health concerns, governments worldwide have implemented various nutrition labelling schemes to promote healthier eating habits. This study aimed to assess the consistency and effectiveness of these labels in an out-of-home context, specifically focusing on restaurant, hospitality, and institutional [...] Read more.
In response to growing public health concerns, governments worldwide have implemented various nutrition labelling schemes to promote healthier eating habits. This study aimed to assess the consistency and effectiveness of these labels in an out-of-home context, specifically focusing on restaurant, hospitality, and institutional food service settings. In total, 178 different dishes from Spain were analysed using labels from the Mazocco method, the UK’s traffic light system, the Health Star Rating (Australia), Nutri-Score (France), multiple traffic lights (Ecuador), and warning labels (Chile and Uruguay). The results demonstrated a generally low level of agreement among these labels (K < 0.40), indicating notable variability and a lack of consensus, which could hinder consumers’ ability to make informed food choices in out-of-home settings. Nutri-Score classified the highest number of dishes as unhealthy (38%). This study underscores the need for an easy-to-understand labelling system tailored to each country’s culinary and socio-cultural contexts to improve consumer decision-making in various dining environments. Future research should focus on developing and testing qualitative methods to more accurately gauge the nutritional quality of cooked dishes in diverse out-of-home settings, thereby enhancing public health outcomes. By addressing the specific needs of the home, restaurants, hospitality, and institutional food services, tailored labelling schemes could significantly improve consumers’ ability to make healthier food choices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Nutrition Labels in Relation to Diet and Public Health (2nd Edition))
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24 pages, 752 KiB  
Systematic Review
The Impact of Non-Fiscal Mandatory and Voluntary Policies and Interventions on the Reformulation of Food and Beverage Products: A Systematic Review
by Jessica Packer, Semina Michalopoulou, Joana Cruz, Disha Dhar, Claire Stansfield, Helena Kaczmarska, Russell M. Viner, Oliver Mytton and Simon J. Russell
Nutrients 2024, 16(20), 3484; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16203484 - 14 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1555
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Low quality diets are a risk factor for non-communicable diseases; therefore, improving diet quality is a public health and policy priority in the UK and elsewhere. Reformulating food/beverage products to make them healthier may be an effective approach. Evidence suggests that [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Low quality diets are a risk factor for non-communicable diseases; therefore, improving diet quality is a public health and policy priority in the UK and elsewhere. Reformulating food/beverage products to make them healthier may be an effective approach. Evidence suggests that fiscal interventions, notably taxes/levies on soft drinks, can lead to reformulation but the evidence for voluntary or mandated non-fiscal interventions is less clear. We aimed to review and synthesise contemporary evidence to determine whether non-fiscal policies/interventions result in the reformulation of food/beverage products Methods: In April 2023, we systematically searched ten international academic and nine grey literature databases. We included real-world study designs, all nutrients, in- and out-of-home sectors, and studies published from 2013, to ensure policy relevancy. We excluded modelling studies. Using the Synthesis Without Meta-Analysis method we conducted vote counting of studies based on the direction of effect and narrative synthesis by intervention type. Risk of bias was assessed using a tool developed by the EPPI-Centre and quality was assessed using GRADE. Results: We included 77 real-world studies from 19 countries, reporting 100 non-fiscal policies/interventions. Most commonly, these were reduction targets (n = 44), front-of-pack labels (n = 23), and advertising standards (n = 9). Most interventions were voluntary (n = 67), compared to mandatory (n = 33), and focused on the in-home sector (n = 63). The vote counting results showed non-fiscal policies/interventions overall led to improvements in reformulation in 60/63 studies with a valid direction of effect (95%, 95% CI 0.869, 0.984, p < 0.001). Mandatory implementations were more successful than voluntary implementations with 15/15 showing an improvement (100%, 95% CI 0.796, 1], p < 0.001), compared 40/43 showing an improvement (93%, 95% CI 0.814, 0.976, p < 0.001). Most of the studies were of low quality, due to the observational nature of the studies. Sodium was the most commonly targeted nutrient (n = 56) and was found to be reformulated in most studies. Causation is difficult to establish from real-world studies, but evidence suggests that regulatory and multi-component strategies may be effective at driving reformulation. Conclusions: Non-fiscal policies/interventions can play an important role in driving reformulation, alongside fiscal measures. This work was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research PRP-PRU-02-15-Healthy Weight and registered on Open Science Framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Nutrition Labels in Relation to Diet and Public Health (2nd Edition))
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