Nutrition Info and Other Front-of-Package Labels and Simulated Food and Beverage Purchases

Could front-of-package nutrition information (Nutrition Info) labels proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) help consumers buy healthier foods compared with other proposed or existing labels?In this randomized clinical trial with 5636 US adults, front-of-package labels did not lead participants to buy healthier foods compared with positive labels (ie, labels that communicate only the positive attributes of a food). By contrast, spectrum labels that rated foods from least to most healthy led participants to buy foods that were healthier than those with positive labels only and those with Nutrition Info labels.These findings suggest that spectrum labels may promote healthier food purchases than the FDA’s proposed Nutrition Info labels.

Corresponding Author: Anna H. Grummon, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 3145 Porter Dr, Room A103, Palo Alto, CA 94305 (agrummon@stanford.edu).

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