Consumers' responses to health claims in the context of other on-pack nutrition information: a systematic review.

Zenobia Talati, Simone Pettigrew, Bruce Neal, Helen Dixon, Clare Hughes, Bridget Kelly, Caroline Miller

Journal: Nutrition reviews 2017;75(4):260-273

PMID: 28371913

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Abstract

The presence of health claims on food packaging can positively bias consumers' evaluations of foods. This review examined whether cognitive biases endure when other sources of nutrition information [the nutrition facts panel (NFP) and front-of-pack labels] appear on-pack with health claims. The following databases were searched: Web of Science, Ovid, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Scopus, ProQuest, and Wiley Online Library. The search terms ("health claim*" OR "nutri* claim") AND ("food label*" OR "front of pack") were used to identify studies. Twenty-four studies that examined health claims and front-of-pack labels or the NFP were included. The NFP can reduce bias, but only if consumers view it and interpret it correctly, which often does not occur. Front-of-pack labels show greater promise in reducing bias created by health claims. These findings are relevant to policymakers who are considering the effectiveness of mandating an NFP and/or a front-of-pack label alongside health claims.

Address: Z. Talati and S. Pettigrew are with the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia. B. Neal is with The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. H. Dixon is with the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. C. Hughes is with the Cancer Council, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. B. Kelly is with the School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. C. Miller is with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. C. Miller is with the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

DOI: 10.1093/nutrit/nuw070