Do you look at nutrition labels when grocery shopping? Most of us who are health conscious do. I know I am always looking at the nutrition facts even for foods that I know I don't want. What factors are important to you when buying food? Ingredients, calories, fat, sugar, fiber, protein? According to research in 2007-2012 from the European Food Information Council cited in www.foodnavigator.com, price, taste and brand over rule nutrition labeling. The research suggests people know how to read a nutrition label but don't usually make food choices based on nutrition. Instead, pricing, taste and brands are more of an influence for purchasing something. Food Navigator also notes that shopping in a hurry or feeling pressured makes us more likely to choose foods based on taste, price or brand over nutrition.
So how can people make more health conscious decisions, especially when in a hurry? What about health claims or eye catching nutrition symbols on packages? Many foods have colorful or stand out health claims or symbols on packaging. Consumers can just look for these symbols and be able to make healthier choices, right? Well, maybe not according to another European study from Food Quality and Preference cited in www.foodnavigator.com. Nutrition claims may have a negative effect on perceived quality of food according to their research findings. Researchers studied people's perception of a regular biscuit and a non-sugar biscuit. Information on the biscuit packaging had a strong influence on perception of how the biscuits were going to taste.
These 2 studies suggest we make decisions to buy food products based on price, taste and brand instead of nutritional quality. When foods have nutrition claims on the packaging, this may actually cause a more negative perception on sensory indicators like taste. Do you agree? These studies were done in Europe. Do you think the results would be different here in the US?
How can we shift consumers to make food choices based on nutritional quality instead of taste and price if nutritional claims don't seem to help?
So how can people make more health conscious decisions, especially when in a hurry? What about health claims or eye catching nutrition symbols on packages? Many foods have colorful or stand out health claims or symbols on packaging. Consumers can just look for these symbols and be able to make healthier choices, right? Well, maybe not according to another European study from Food Quality and Preference cited in www.foodnavigator.com. Nutrition claims may have a negative effect on perceived quality of food according to their research findings. Researchers studied people's perception of a regular biscuit and a non-sugar biscuit. Information on the biscuit packaging had a strong influence on perception of how the biscuits were going to taste.
These 2 studies suggest we make decisions to buy food products based on price, taste and brand instead of nutritional quality. When foods have nutrition claims on the packaging, this may actually cause a more negative perception on sensory indicators like taste. Do you agree? These studies were done in Europe. Do you think the results would be different here in the US?
How can we shift consumers to make food choices based on nutritional quality instead of taste and price if nutritional claims don't seem to help?
No comments:
Post a Comment