Back to Search Start Over

Nutri-Score and NutrInform Battery: Effects on Performance and Preference in Italian Consumers

Authors :
Morgane Fialon
Mauro Serafini
Pilar Galan
Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot
Mathilde Touvier
Mélanie Deschasaux-Tanguy
Barthélémy Sarda
Serge Hercberg
Lydiane Nabec
Chantal Julia
Source :
Nutrients; Volume 14; Issue 17; Pages: 3511
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022.

Abstract

In May 2020, the European Commission announced a proposal for a mandatory front-of-pack label (FoPL) for all European Union (EU) countries. Indeed, FoPLs have been recognized by several public institutions as a cost-effective measure to guide consumers toward nutritionally favorable food products. The aim of this study was to compare the performance and consumer preference of two FoPLs currently proposed or implemented in EU countries, the interpretive format Nutri-Score and the non-interpretive format NutrInform Battery, among Italian consumers. The experimental study was conducted in 2021 on a representative sample of 1064 Italian adults (mean age = 46.5 ± 14.1 years; 48% men). Participants were randomized to either Nutri-Score or NutrInform and had to fill out an online questionnaire testing their objective understanding of the FoPL on three food categories (breakfast products, breakfast cereals and added fats) as well as purchase intention, subjective understanding and perception. Multivariable logistic regressions and t-tests were used to analyze the answers. In terms of the capacity of participants to identify the most nutritionally favorable products, Nutri-Score outperformed NutrInform in all food categories, with the highest odds ratio being observed for added fats (OR = 21.7 [15.3–31.1], p < 0.0001). Overall, with Nutri-Score, Italian participants were more likely to intend to purchase nutritionally favorable products than with NutrInform (OR = 5.29 [4.02–6.97], p < 0.0001). Focusing on olive oil, participants of the Nutri-Score group had higher purchase intention of olive oil compared to those in the NutrInform group (OR = 1.92 [1.42–2.60], p < 0.0001) after manipulating the label. The interpretive format Nutri-Score appears to be a more efficient tool than NutrInform for orienting Italian consumers towards more nutritionally favorable food choices.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20726643
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Nutrients; Volume 14; Issue 17; Pages: 3511
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....c4553435c8cb3b32bb464b57a3710666
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14173511