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LIVING
Green, amber, red, really?
Recent research has shown that very few consumers
understand the current 'traffic light' system being used
front-of-pack on food items in the UK. People with
diabetes are likely to be keener label readers than
the average soul, but should things be better, easier?
Sue Marshall takes a look.
Since 2013, the UK has used
the 'traffic light' system
which uses red, amber
and green to signify low,
medium and high amounts of energy,
fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt
in a food product. However, recent
discussions and research has shown
that these are poorly understood by
the consumer, resulting in confusion
over the relative health benefits of
a product.
There is no perfect way of
simply communicating the relative
healthiness of a food product, but the
Nutri-Score is considered to be a big
step in the right direction. Morrisons
supermarket recently announced
that it will be using a Nutri-Score
inspired front-of-pack label on over
600 own-label products, to be rolled
out later in the year, based on similar
consumer insight.
First launched in France in 2017,
the Nutri-Score system grades
foods from A to E according to
their overall nutritional quality
and is currently used acrossseven7
European countries. Consumers
intuitively understand this label and
so it helps them navigate to healthier
choices. No system is perfect, but the
Nutri-Score is a major step forward
in helping the shopper navigate
products and cut through misleading
health claims on-pack.
Independence day
Then there is the question of
who gets to decide on the data that
goes on food labels. Some argue
that independent health symbols
on packaging are key to affordable
healthy diets. Research from Imperial
College Business School shows
that printing recognisable health
symbols on product packaging can
reverse misconceptions around the
healthiness of low-cost items, leading
to a sales boost for manufacturers as
well as fostering healthier purchasing
choices for budget shoppers.
Within the paper, Going Healthy:
How Product Characteristics
Influence the Sales Impact of Frontof-Pack
Health Symbols, published
in the Journal of the Academic
of Marketing Science, research
led by Dr Stijn Maesen, examined
the performance implications
of adding a health symbol to a
product's packaging.
With misperceptions among
consumers still commonplace
around the nutritional value of
low-cost items, as well as products
with a front-of-pack taste claim
and retailer-owned brands, Maesen
and his team found that adding a
recognisable, accredited health
symbol can overcome existing beliefs
and boost sales.
The researchers focused on the
use of the Choices health symbol,
present within the Dutch market
between 2011 and 2015. While later