Facts-Up-Front Versus Traffic-Light Food Labels

Summary

The U.S. food and beverage industry recently released a new front-of-package nutrition labeling system called Facts Up Front that will be used on thousands of food products. The purpose of this study was to test consumer understanding of the Facts Up Front nutrition labeling system compared to the Multiple Traffic Light system (Traffic Light). Facts Up Front displays grams/milligrams and % daily value information for various nutrients; Traffic Light uses an interpretive color-coded scheme to alert consumers to low, medium or high levels of certain nutrients. Participants in an Internet-based study were randomized to one of five front-of-package label conditions: 1) No Label; 2) Traffic Light; 3) Traffic Light plus information about protein and fiber (Traffic Light+); 4) Facts Up Front; or 5) Facts Up Front plus information about "nutrients to encourage" (Facts Up Front+). Total percentage correct quiz scores were generated reflecting participants' ability to compare two foods on nutrient levels, based on their labels, and to estimate amounts of saturated fat, sugar, sodium, fiber and protein in foods. 703 adult participants recruited through an online database in May 2011 participated in this Internet-based study and data were analyzed in June 2011. The investigators hypothesized that the Traffic Light label groups would perform better than the Facts Up Front groups on all outcomes.

Conditions

• Food Labeling

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Traffic Light

A kilocalories (calories) per serving label and a Traffic Light symbol with High/Med/Low text indicating amounts of saturated fat, total sugars, and sodium per serving.

BEHAVIORAL

Traffic Light+

A calories per serving label and a Traffic Light symbol with High/Med/Low text indicating amounts of saturated fat, total sugars, sodium, fiber and protein per serving.

BEHAVIORAL

Facts Up Front

A label displaying calories, saturated fat, sodium, and total sugars per serving. Nutrient amounts were listed in grams/milligrams and % Daily Values (%DVs), which indicate whether a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient based on daily value recommendations for a 2,000 calorie diet, were included. This symbol was created based on the Facts Up Front symbol description provided by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute, without the inclusion of nutrients to encourage.

BEHAVIORAL

Facts Up Front+

A label displaying calories, saturated fat, sodium, and total sugars per serving. The label also showed two (out of the possible eight) nutrients to encourage with the highest %DV. Nutrient amounts were listed in grams/milligrams and %DVs were included. This symbol was based directly on the Facts Up Front symbol description provided by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute.

BEHAVIORAL

No label control group

No label control group

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Yale University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Christina A Roberto, PhD · Yale University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-05-31

Primary Completion

2011-05-31

Completion

2011-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations