Consumer food concerns
Packaged and processed foods sold in the United States started carrying standardized nutrition labels in 1994 when the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) took effect. The major goal was to increase access to nutrition information and improve consumers' ability to make healthful food choices. Since NLEA took effect, technological change has introduced new sources of nutrition information and the consumption of food away from home has continued to increase. But have these measures been effective?
A new report examines how the consumers' use of nutrition labels have changed over the decade by looking at the trend in use of various nutrition label components and demographic groups. The U.S. experience may help policymakers in other countries who are considering mandatory nutrition labeling to achieve public health goals.
The study reveals that in the decade from 1996 to 2006, consumer use of nutrition labels declined. It declined 3% for the Nutrition Facts panel, 11% for the ingredient list, and 10% for the panel's information about calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium. In fact, only fiber and sugar did not decline over the 10-year period. Sugar held steady while fiber increased by 2% - a telling result.
The decrease in use of the nutrition label was greatest for individuals in the 20-29 year-old bracket.
If you are wondering how the government possibly misunderstood the information desires of consumers, you need look no further that the new UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) report "Consumer Priorities for Sustainable Development "
Not satisfied with spontaneous answers to questions about what is important to consumers when buying food, the FSA researchers prompted them with specific responses. They then combined both the spontaneous and prompted answer for the final result. For example, only 7% of UK consumers were concerned with salt, but after prompting, an additional 27% said they were concerned. This resulted in a grand total of 34%. Talk about fudging!
Is it any wonder we always fail to recognize the consumers' genuine desires?
