Front-of-package nutrition labels: Useful . . . and forgettable

Introduction: It is unclear whether characteristics of Front-of-Package (FOP) nutrition labels are related to label recall and healthfulness of product selection. Methods: While wearing eye-tracking glasses to monitor visual attention, 64 Minnesotan parent/child pairs selected foods to take home from a laboratory-turned-grocery aisle. Pairs were randomly assigned to view products containing: 1) Multiple Traffic Light labels, which used numbers and colors to indicate quantity of saturated fat, sodium, and sugar; 2) monochromatic Nutrition Keys labels containing only the numeric information; or 3) no FOP labels. Within product category (e.g., cereals) levels of key nutrients-to-limit (e.g., sugar) was compared for chosen foods across condition using t-tests. Parents completed a survey indicating whether they had seen any labels while selecting products. ANOVA compared label recall by condition. Results: There was a significant overall condition effect on recall accuracy (p<.001): 74% of participants in the no-label condition correctly recalled not seeing FOP labels; <46% of participants who saw one of the two FOP label types correctly recalled seeing labels; only 17% of these correctly identified which label had appeared on their products. Participants randomly assigned to view either label selected cereals with significantly lower levels of sugar compared with no-label participants. This pattern was also evident for sodium in chips and fat in cookies. Discussion: FOP labeling appears to improve the healthfulness of food selections; however, current FOP label appearance may not be very memorable to consumers. Implications for future use of labels will be discussed.