ArticlePublic health nutrition2018
Do manufacturer 'nutrient claims' influence the efficacy of mandated front-of-package labels?
Article in Public health nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Relationship Between Fruit Drink Front-of-Package Claims, Fruit Imagery, and Ingredient Disclosures and Consumer Perceptions, Intentions, and Behavior: A Systematic Review.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2025Pooled it
- The impact of front-of-package claims, fruit images, and health warnings on consumers' perceptions of sugar-sweetened fruit drinks: Three randomized experiments.Preventive medicine · 2020Trial
- Mixed messages: evaluating the concurrent presence of nutrition and health claims and front-of-pack warning symbols in five food categories in Canada.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Sociodemographic differences in the understanding of front-of-pack nutrition labeling, perception of healthfulness, and food purchase intention in Brazil.Food & nutrition research · 2026Article
- Estimating the Impact on Parents' Infant Feeding Choices of Increasing Age Guidance and Adding Sugar Warning Labels to Commercial Infant Foods: A Mixed-Methods Study.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Monitoring health and nutrition claims on food labels in Brazil.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Sports foods are not all they shake up to be. An audit of formulated supplementary sports food products and packaging in Australian retail environments.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Nutrition-Related Information on Alcoholic Beverages in Victoria, Australia, 2021.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- "It's All Just Marketing", a Qualitative Analysis of Consumer Perceptions and Understandings of Nutrition Content and Health Claims in New Zealand.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Nutritional Composition of Natural and Organic Branded Food Products: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Greek Foodscape.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Efficacy of different front-of-package labeling systems in changing purchase intention and product healthfulness perception for food products in Argentina.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2022Article
- Influence of nutrition claims on different models of front-of-package nutritional labeling in supposedly healthy foods: Impact on the understanding of nutritional information, healthfulness perception, and purchase intention of Brazilian consumers.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Accentuating the Interrelation between Consumer Intention and Healthy Packaged Food Selection during COVID-19: A Case Study of Pakistan.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Claims on Ready-to-Eat Cereals: Are Those With Claims Healthier?Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Article
- Experimental Studies of Front-of-Package Nutrient Warning Labels on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Ultra-Processed Foods: A Scoping Review.Nutrients · 2020Article
- Nutrition Policy and Individual Struggle to Eat Healthily: The Question of Public Support.Nutrients · 2020Article
- Conflicting Messages on Food and Beverage Packages: Front-of-Package Nutritional Labeling, Health and Nutrition Claims in Brazil.Nutrients · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine consumers' ability to correctly interpret front-of-package (FOP) 'high in' warnings in the presence of a voluntary claim for the same or a different nutrient.
designA between-group experimental task assigned respondents to view food products labelled as 'high in sodium', with a 'reduced sodium' claim positioned next to the warning, away from the warning or absent. A second experiment assigned participants to view a food product labelled as 'high in sugar', with a 'reduced fat' claim positioned next to the warning, away from the warning or absent. For both tasks, respondents were asked to identify whether the products were high in the indicated nutrient.
settingOnline survey (2016). SUBJECTS: Canadians aged 16-32 years (n 1000) were recruited in person from five major cities in Canada.
resultsRespondents were less likely to correctly identify a product as 'high in sodium' when packages also featured a voluntary 'reduced sodium' claim, with a stronger effect when the claim was positioned away from the FOP symbol (P<0·001). The number of correct responses was similar across conditions when the nutrient claim was for a different nutrient than the one featured in the FOP 'high in' warning.
conclusionsThe findings demonstrate that the presence of a voluntary nutrient claim can undermine the efficacy of mandated FOP labels for the same nutrient. Countries considering nutrient-specific FOP warnings, including Canada, should consider regulations that would prohibit claims for nutrients that exceed the threshold for nutrient-specific FOP warnings.
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