Front-of-Packaging Labels Encourages Healther Diets and Better Nutrition

Can food packaging affect product nutrition quality? Researchers from several universities across the United States attempt to answer this question by analyzing nutrition labels of packaged food.

The findings were recently published in the Journal of Marketing, assessing the difference it could make if nutrition labels are moved to the front of the product instead of being placed on the back of the side of packages. How can such a small change affect the nutrition of consumers?

Obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases have become a growing epidemic in the United States. In the 1970s, there was a dramatic shift in diets from nutritious food to processed food with higher calories and less nutritional value.

Battling Worldwide Obesity

Fast forward to today, nearly 33% of American adults are battling obesity. Moreover, about one in five young children have childhood obesity with other conditions such as diabetes and depression.

Increased carbohydrate-rich diets have also increased the percentage of obesity in Europe and developing countries such as nations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Worldwide, nearly 1.5 billion people are obese.

For years, the food industry has tried to alleviate obesity by educating consumers through nutrition labels. The World Health Organization even has a framework manual for front-of-package (FOP) labeling to promote healthy diets.

Adapting Front-of-Package Labeling

For the study, the researchers examined 44 categories of packaged food products in the U.S. for more than 16 years. They discovered that adopting FOP nutrition labeling "in a product category leads to an improvement in the nutritional quality of other products in that category," wrote the authors which is the first out of four main findings.

Second, premium brands and companies with a smaller product line had a stronger impact using the FOP labeling system. Next, FOP adoption was also strong in unhealthy brands and categories with higher competitive intensity. Lastly, manufacturers tend to increase a product's nutritional value by reducing the calorie count and limiting nutrients like sugar and saturated fat.

Professor Joon Ho Lim from Illinois State University said their findings have implications that "policymakers, in partnership with food manufacturers and retailers, should encourage adoption of voluntary, standardized, and transparent labeling programs and consider options for broadening the information presented in FOP labels."

Policymakers have the potential to invest in educational campaigns for people to understand the importance of FOP labels and nutrition. Manufacturers would then be challenged to offer products with better nutrition.

Rishika Rishika from the University of South Carolina suggested that "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."

Retailers can also prioritize products with FOP labels for the increase of packaged food with better nutritional value. FOP labels are also beneficial for consumers with busy schedules and seek healthier products.

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