examine Saarbrücken researchers how consumers respond to the labeling of food
On common rules on food labeling, the EU member states have agreed: information on the energy content, the fats used and the sugar and salt content of the food are the future be available on all food packaging. As such labeling is perceived when it is printed as a single label in the field of packaging, and if this encourages the selection of healthier products, scientists examine since 2008 in the EU research project "FLABEL". involved is the Institute for Consumer and Behavioral Research at Saarland University, headed by Professor Andrea Gröppel-Klein.
The results show that such a label is perceived by the consumers, but does not lead to a fundamental change in consumer behavior.
On food packaging, EU-wide uniform consumer-friendly nutrition information will be available in the future. This provides for a new regulation, which the Council of Ministers of the European Union at the 29. September 2011 approved unanimously. The mandatory nutritional labeling provides information on the energy content of foods in the form of calories, fat, saturated fats, sugar and salt (per 100 gram or 100 milliliter). A traffic light system or a health logo - in the case of healthier foods - was, however, not obligatory introduced.
Whether food labeling labels pay more attention to nutritional information when printed in the form of a uniform label, and whether consumers are more likely to use health-promoting products, has been exploring the EU research project "Food Labeling to Advance Better Education for Life" since 2008. It involves scientists from seven European universities as well as interest groups from industry, commerce and consumer protection organizations, among them the Institute for Consumer and Behavioral Research (IKV) at the University of the Saarland. "We examined the effect of nutritional information at the point of sale, ie during shopping," says IKV Director Andrea Gröppel-Klein. Together with Dr. Jörg Königstorfer, Professor of Business Administration, conducted various studies in Germany in cooperation with the Saarland-based company Globus. The subjects in the assortment laboratory made real purchasing decisions. They were given products with a specially designed label that had previously been tested for comprehensibility and sympathy by other research teams in the EU project. The products of the control group showed the conventional nutritional labeling.
Conclusion of the investigations of the Institute for Consumption and Behavioral Research:
"The contribution of a single nutritional label is small, but significantly identifiable: The uniform design of the label slightly increases the attention paid to nutrient values," summarizes Andrea Gröppel-Klein. "Consumers looked at product packaging for just a second or two, however, and the labels were viewed for just a fraction of a second." Customers' buying habits have not fundamentally changed as a result of the labels, but they could be helpful to those customers who want to often have problems in controlling their eating habits. Further studies in Germany and Poland have shown that additional traffic light colors trigger automatic behavioral reactions: "Unhealthy foods marked with red paint are then avoided more," explains the Saarbrücken university professor.
For their studies, the scientists used different measuring methods. "In order to determine whether the customers are activated by the label, we carried out so-called electrodermal reaction measurements," explains Gröppel-Klein. At the same time, electrodes on the palms measure the conductivity of the skin. This changes when the person is excited and gets sweaty hands. With the technology, even the smallest, unconscious activation changes can be measured. In addition, the scientists performed elaborate eye tracking studies, in which they analyzed average 4.000 eye tracking data per subject. They were able to determine whether a new, uniform food label would receive more attention compared to existing nutritional systems. Further field studies using point-of-view gauges in retail outlets were also conducted by the IKV researchers in Poland and Turkey - in cooperation with the University of Warsaw (Poland) and the Dokuz Eylul University (Turkey). The results are published in scientific publications and communicated to the EU as a political decision-making body.
Further information: www.flabel.org, www.ikv.uni-saarland.de
Source: Saarbrücken [University]
