Front-of-Pack Labelling: Consumer Perception of Nutrition and Health Claims

Unhealthy diets driven by excessive intake of sugar, salt and fats are linked with the increased risk of non-communicable diseases which remain the leading causes of death and disease burden worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the recommendations for the use of nutritional information panel (NIP) and has required the use of nutrition and health claims to help consumers understand nutritional values of the food and making informed and healthier food choices. The nutrition and health claims typically appear on the front of packs labeling (FOPL) and provide summary information that may or may not be replicated in the NIP. Several types of FOPL had been developed worldwide and studies on consumers’ perception had been conducted extensively. It is still not clear whether these labels are effective in modifying dietary choices and affecting behavioral change. This chapter will present an overview of the consumer perception, use, and understanding of FOPL and health claims while conducting a comparison of all the different types and their effect on different populations. The findings showed that consumers have positive perception for all FOPL with no significant preference between the different types, yet they present more trust to some and are more confused by other. While the presence of the FOPL provided misleading positive perception the presence of health claims reduced this effect. Further studies are required, incorporating more stringent time and region limitations and enhanced control over socio-economic factors, to draw meaningful conclusions about the impact of FOPL on changing the consumer behavior.