Health-related cues on the packages of processed and ultra-processed products: prevalence and policy implications
Dublin Core
Title
Health-related cues on the packages of processed and ultra-processed products: prevalence and policy implications
Subject
EMBALAJE
ETIQUETADO
MARKETING
NUTRICION
SALUD
POLITICA ALIMENTARIA
ADVERTENCIAS NUTRICIONALES
BIBLIOGRAFIA NACIONAL QUIMICA
2022
Abstract
The information included on food packages has a crucial role in influencing consumer product associations and purchase decisions. In particular, visual and textual cues on processed and ultra-processed products can convey health-related associations that influence consumer healthiness perception and purchase decisions. In this context, the present work aimed to explore the use of health-related cues on the packages of processed and ultra processed products sold in Uruguay to provide insights for policy making. A total of 3813 products from 34 different food categories found in four of the most important supermarket chains in Uruguay were surveyed. The textual and visual information included on the packages as well as the nutritional composition of the products were analyzed. Results showed that 67% of the products included at least one health-related cue. Pictures of culinary ingredients, natural and minimally processed foods were the most frequent health-related cue, followed by references to naturalness and claims related to critical nutrients. The prevalence of health-related cues largely differed across product categories, ranging from 100% to 17%. The relationship between the presence of health-related cues on the packages and the excessive content of nutrients associated with non-communicable diseases was assessed using a gradient boosting model, which showed limited predictive ability. This suggests that the inclusion of health-related cues on food packages was not strongly related to the nutritional composition of products and therefore cannot be regarded as a healthiness indicator. These results stress the need of develop stricter labeling regulations to protect consumers from misleading information.
Creator
Alcaire, Florencia
Vidal, Leticia
Machín, Leandro
Antúnez, Lucía
Giménez, Ana
Curutchet, María Rosa
Ares, Gastón
Source
British Journal of Nutrition, 2022
Publisher
The nutrition society
Date
2022
Rights
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La legislación uruguaya protege el derecho de autor sobre toda creación literaria, científica o artística, tanto en lo que tiene que ver con sus derechos morales, como en lo referente a los derechos patrimoniales con sujeción a lo establecido por el derecho común y las siguientes leyes (LEY 9.739 DE 17 DE DICIEMBRE DE 1937 SOBRE PROPIEDAD LITERARIA Y ARTISTICA CON LAS MODIFICACIONES INTRODUCIDAS POR LA LEY DE DERECHO DE AUTOR Y DERECHOS CONEXOS No. 17.616 DE 10 DE ENERO DE 2003, LEY 17.805 DE 26 DE AGOSTO DE 2004, LEY 18.046 DE 24 DE OCTUBRE DE 2006 LEY 18.046 DE 24 DE OCTUBRE DE 2006)
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PDF
Language
Inglés
Type
Artículo
Identifier
10.1017/S000711452200318X
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
PDF
