Front-of-Package Nutrition Labels

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care5,638 enrolled

Overview

The goal of this study is to determine whether certain front-of-package food labeling systems improve the healthfulness of consumers' grocery selections. US adults who are their households' primary shoppers will complete a shopping task in a naturalistic online grocery store. They will be exposed to different front-of-package food labeling systems and asked to shop for groceries. The online store will record participants' selections. Participants will also be asked to complete survey measures.

This study aims to determine whether certain front-of-package food labeling systems improve the healthfulness of consumers' grocery selections. The survey research company Cloud Research will recruit a sample of approximately 5,610 US adults ages 18+ who read and speak English and who are their households' primary grocery shopper. Participants will complete a between-subjects online randomized experiment. They will be randomized to 1 of 6 front-of-package labeling systems: 1) positive labels, 2) spectrum labels, 3) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) high in labels, 4) FDA traffic light labels, 5) FDA high in labels plus positive labels, or 6) FDA traffic light labels plus positive labels. Participants will complete a shopping task in a naturalistic online grocery store. Participants will be instructed to shop as they usually would for items in the following categories: non-alcoholic beverages (e.g., juice, coffee, tea, soda, sports drinks, water), breads and baked goods, breakfast cereals, soups, boxed and frozen meals, and snacks (e.g., chips, crackers, nuts, applesauce, dried fruit). They will be given a budget based on average spending in these categories in a large supermarket chain. The store will record participants' selections. After completing the shopping task, participants will complete an online survey.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Interventions

Positive LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Products that meet Guiding Stars' criteria for earning 1 or more Guiding Star will display labels indicating their healthfulness using star ratings: 1 star ("Good"), 2 stars ("Better"), or 3 stars ("Best").

Spectrum LabelsBEHAVIORAL

All products will display an expanded Guiding Stars label that show an overall rating indicating their healthfulness using star ratings: 1 star ("Poor"), 2 stars ("Fair"), 3 stars ("Good"), 4 stars ("Better"), or 5 stars ("Best").

FDA High In LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Products that contain high levels (i.e., ≥20% DV per serving) of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugars will display a label indicating which of these nutrients the product is high in.

FDA Traffic Light LabelsBEHAVIORAL

All products will display a "Nutrition Info" label showing whether the amount of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars in 1 serving of the product is low (\<5% DV), medium (≥5 to \<20% DV), or high (≥20% DV). "Low" will be shown in green, "Medium" in yellow, and "High" in red.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Healthfulness of participants' grocery selections

The study will assess healthfulness of participants' grocery selections as the weighted average Ofcom Nutrient Profiling Model score of the products the participants select in the shopping task, weighted by the number of servings in each product. Ofcom Nutrient Profiling Model scores will be calculated for each product participants select. Products receive higher Ofcom scores when they contain lower calorie, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar density, higher protein and fiber density, and more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts. The investigators will calculate the weighted average score across participants' selections, weighting by the number of servings participants select of that product. The Ofcom Nutrient Profiling Model score ranges from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate healthier products.