Front-of-package nutritional labeling: consumers’ understanding and preference

Front-of-package labeling (FOP) presents nutritional information on the front of the product package in the form of a symbol or score, for example. It usually focuses on nutrients of major relevance to public health, that is, those associated with chronic diseases prevention. In Brazil, the adoption of this labeling is not regulated, but it is under discussion by the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA). The purpose of this study was to investigate consumer understanding of three FOP labels: Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), Traffic-Light and Triangular Warning. Data collection was performed through a survey using an online questionnaire, in which participants were asked to answer a nutrient quiz, identify the healthiest product (out of a set of three products), identify their preferred model and answer socioeconomic questions. Results were analyzed by Pearson's chi-square test. A total of 1671 individuals participated in the survey, most of them female, with higher education and residing in the Southeast region of the country. The labeling model that got the highest number of correct answers on the nutrient quiz was Traffic-Light (68.42%) followed by Warning (53.71%), Nutrition Table (41.39%) and GDA (39.95%). Regarding the healthfulness of the product, all FOP labels had a good performance, with Warning (96.83%) and Traffic-Light (95.27%) having the higher number of correct answers and the GDA being the model with fewer hits (89.23%). The participants' preferred label was Traffic-Light (83.24%), followed by GDA (10.83%) and Warning (5.92%). Overall, all FOP labeling models helped participants identify the healthiest food product. It is noteworthy that, for the adoption of any FOP labeling model, it is necessary to implement educational actions and promote healthy habits.