Voluntary front-of-pack labels improve food quality and encourage better nutrition, reveals study

06 Nov 2020 --- Moving nutritional labeling from the back to the front of food packaging may incentivize food producers to competitively improve the quality of their ingredients throughout market categories, according to a new US study.

The researchers are now calling on governments to encourage front-of pack-labels (FoPL) and invest in educational campaigns. While label placement may seem simple, they say, its effects may be profound. 

“Policymakers, food manufacturers and retailers should all encourage the adoption of voluntary, standardized and transparent labeling programs and consider options for broadening the information presented in FoPL,” says Joon Ho Lim, a co-author of the study. 

Familiarity with FoPL
The study says that cultivating familiarity with FoPL among consumers is an integral part of promoting their use and effectiveness. 

“We believe that policymakers should also invest in educational campaigns that inform consumers about the value of FoPLs and that would further incentivize food manufacturers to offer nutritionally better products,” continues Lim. 

Industry, moreover, may have an opportunity for product innovation and a competitive advantage by using FoPL. 

“Food retailers should partner with manufacturers and give them incentives to adopt FOP because this can lead to better-quality products for their consumers and help build a positive brand image,” asserts researcher Rishika Rishika. 

“Retailers can also promote products with FoPLs, especially in more competitive and unhealthy product categories, which can spur manufacturers toward more innovation and lead to an increase in the nutritional quality of foods over time.”

FoPL incentivizes food producers to competitively increase nutritional quality.

Analyzing food packaging 
Empirical data was collected from a sixteen year period by four US universities, with the subsequent analysis published in the Journal of Marketing. 

Food packaging on 44 different market categories in the US was analyzed, with four central findings being revealed: 

FoPL on a product category resulted in a significant improvement in the nutritional quality of food products across that category over time. Labeling on one product can influence the standard of its market rivals. 

FoPL’s effect is more substantial for premium high-priced brands and brands with a narrower product line. 

The FoPL adoption effect was stronger for unhealthy categories and categories with higher competitive intensity. In food products containing high sugar content, for example, for which many brand options are available to customers, nutrition improvements rose more rapidly. 

Manufacturers tended to increase the nutritional quality of products primarily by reducing calorie content and limiting nutrients such as sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. These alterations appeared to be the go-to solution when FOP labels are in place. 

The researchers say retailers should be encouraged to invest in measures that help monitor and track sales of products with FoPL to add to the research. 

This could provide feedback to manufacturers regularly and speed up the competitive effects of FoPL.

The study was conducted at Illinois State University, North Carolina State University, University of South Carolina, and University of Maryland. 

FoPL controversy 
The findings come amid industry disputes over FoPL designs and their effectiveness. 

This year, a farming and agri-business body in the EU argued that color-coded labels stigmatize highly nutritious foods and often promote unhealthy options. 

However, the UK lobby group Action on Sugar stands firmly in support of such labels and is calling on the government to include free sugars on FoPL

Rising rates of disease 
Nutrition labeling is a growing and contentious topic as diet-related diseases continue to rise. 

Authors of the study point to endemic obesity in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 33 percent of American adults are obese. 

Childhood and adolescent obesity rates have also risen sharply in the last 30 years, with one in five school-aged children considered obese, they say. 

By Louis Gore-Langton

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