Análisis descriptivo del contenido de micronutrientes y percepción de la importancia de las declaraciones nutricionales de los productos procesados y ultraprocesados en la ciudad de Cuenca, julio - diciembre 2022

Background: The packaging of Processed Foods and Ultraprocessed Products (PFUP), inform about the content of critical nutrients for health, also show claims related to health and nutrition that require analysis. Objective: To identify the nutritional claims of PFUPs and their importance in the purchase and consumption decision of adults in Cuenca. Methodology: A mixed study (qualitative-quantitative) in which 2054 PFUP sold in Cuenca were analyzed. The frequency of nutrition claims in 10 categories of PFUP was identified. The type of legend was determined and the correspondence between these and what was declared in the nutritional table (NT) according to the INFORMAS taxonomy was compared. Twelve adults were interviewed on the perceived importance of the legends for the purchase of PFUP. Results: The PFUP with the highest proportion of statements are beverages, breakfast cereals, bakery and pastry products. The correlation between what is stated and what is reported in the NT is low. People express that the claims can generate misinterpretations and influence on the purchase decision compared to products that do not contain them. Conclusions: Most of the PFUP present nutritional declarations that do not have a good correlation with the real content of the product, which could suggest the analysis of the public policy applied in Ecuador with the objective of including more specific and detailed information on declarations, since this information leads to bad purchasing decisions by consumers.