ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2026
Big picture vs. small details: exploring how front-of-package labels influence healthy food consumption and cognitive processing.
Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: Front-of-package labeling (FoPL) has been increasingly implemented as a public health nutrition strategy to promote healthier dietary choices and reduce the burden of diet-related chronic diseases. However, the effectiveness of different FoPL formats and the cognitive pathways associated with consumers' food perceptions and choices remain unclear. This study aimed to examine how different FoPL types influence consumers' health perceptions, food choices, and cognitive pathway patterns. Methods: Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 employed a 2 × 2 between-subjects online experiment comparing FoPL type (summary vs. nutrient-specific) and color coding (absent vs. present) among 237 participants. Two-way ANCOVA was used to examine the effects of FoPL design on health perception changes and food choice changes while controlling for health food interest and functional health literacy. Study 2 expanded the stimuli to multiple low-health food categories and compared three experimental conditions among 138 participants: a Health Star Rating summary label, a Multiple Traffic Light-style color-coded nutrient-specific label, and a No-FoPL control condition. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine indirect associations involving nutrition accuracy, food health perception, and intentions to purchase low-health foods. Results: In Study 1, a significant interaction effect between FoPL type and color coding was observed for health perception changes ( Conclusion: Different FoPL designs were associated with distinct cognitive pathway patterns. Summary labels were more closely linked to food health perception, whereas nutrient-specific labels, especially when combined with color coding, were linked to nutrition accuracy and subsequent health perception. These findings provide practical implications for optimizing FoPL policies and designing more effective nutrition communication strategies to promote healthier dietary behaviors.
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