Alcimed: Lack of Standardization in Nutrition Labeling Complicating Consumer Choice

In recent years, food packages around the world have been overwhelmed by all kinds of information. Thus, EU Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, applicable from 13th December 2014, will change existing legislation on food labelling including nutrition-related information.

8 Mar 2013 --- However, it is essential to analyse the impact of this labelling policy to see if consumers will really be influenced in their food choices.

Many companies have already started nutrition labelling, as part of a voluntary proactive commitment (except for nutritional claims for which labelling is compulsory). With the enforcement of European Regulation 1169/2011, the obligation to provide nutrition information will apply from 13th December 2016.
 
The mandatory nutrition declaration shall include the following elements:
- The energy value
- The amount of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.
 
But what about consumers? Do they actually read and understand these labels?
 
According to a recent study published in the international journal Appetite , young adults could not understand properly nutritional information. 77.5% of respondents say they looked at the food labels on the back of the package. However, only women, the more educated and those engaging regularly in physical exercise were more inclined to take note of this information.
 
The nutritional table section of the food label was understood the best, and the nutritional declaration section the least. The participants thought they understood the food labels better thanthey actually did: 43.9% stated that they understood them very well, whereas only 27.2% were able to answer correctly simple questions related to nutrition. This inadequate comprehension of food labels represents a missed opportunity to provide essential information necessary for healthy food choices at the individual level.
 
Indeed, several parameters limit the reading and understanding of these labels. Time is a first obstacle: when shopping, respondents admit not having enough time to linger on nutritional information. Secondly, the primary reason for buying is pleasure. Thus, consumers are not very concerned with the nutritional composition of the product, which would not be a barrier in any case to the purchase.
 
One of the main difficulties met by consumers is that the multiple types of labelling do not encourage them to pay attention . Between nutritional claims on the front of the package, the variable order in which nutrients are listed or the various elements put forward, consumers do not find consistency in the labelling that would facilitate comparison between equivalent products and enable them to make healthier food choices. For example, some labels highlight the percentage of saturated fatty acids, and some go further by indicating trans fatty acid, a term that can induce confusion among consumers if not explained.
 
Furthermore, populations subject to nutrition-related diseases (obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease...) have mostly low-incomes and consume cheap products (in hard discounts, first-price products...). In a New Zealander study published in 2008 , it has been shown that the nutritional information on these products is not properly detailed or is simply non-existent. Therefore, nutrition labelling does not systematically meet the needs of those who need it the most.
 
Thus, according to Constance Hervieu, consultant in ALCIMED’s Food Business Unit, "As a first step, nutritional information, in terms of content, should be standardized to allow product comparison according to consumers’ own criteria, to guide them in their choices - bearing in mind that the first two criteria are price and pleasure. The nutrition/ health angle follows only afterwards."
 
 
The quantitative approach suggested by nutrition labelling is not sufficient to determine if a food product is healthy or balanced.
Indeed, a recent Australian study  showed that the relationship between the nutritional quality of the product - as perceived by the consumer - and its actual composition depends on the type of food considered. For example, high energy cereal bars are perceived as healthy, while in the case of prepared foods, those with low energy value are considered healthier. This shows that Australian consumers misunderstand nutrition labelling.
 
Thus, according to Anne Claire Lapie, Project Manager in ALCIMED’s Food Business Unit, "Consumers, and particularly those who are unfamiliar with nutritional information, must be assisted in the interpretation of these often complex food labels.”