This presentation has been provided by The International Life Sciences Institute, South East Asia branch, from their August 2012 seminar in Thailand.

1. ILSI SEA Region Nutrition Labeling Seminar, Thailand, August 2012 (www.ilsi.org/SEA _Region)
Content claims and impacts
on consumers: A review
Hazel Fowler
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
7th Seminar and Workshop on Nutrition Labeling,
Claims and Communication Strategies
30 August 2012

2. Overview
• Introduction
• Previous FSANZ research
• Literature review
• Conclusions

4. FSANZ 2007 Research
• Does the presence of a nutrition content
claim affect consumers’:
– intentions to purchase the product?
– perceptions of the healthiness of the product?

5. FSANZ 2007 Research
• Telephone survey, with 3-dimensional
product stimuli
• Breakfast cereal and a sweet biscuit
product
• Respondents randomised to control
group or a treatment group

7. Purchase intention
Very likely 7
6
5
4 No claim
Claim
3
2
Not at all likely 1
Breakfast cereal Sweet biscuit
FSANZ. 2008. Impact of nutrition content claims on consumer purchase intention, nutrition attitude and health benefits

8. Nutrition attitude
Favourable 7
6
5
4 No claim
Claim
3
2
Unfavourable 1
Breakfast cereal Sweet biscuit
FSANZ. 2008. Impact of nutrition content claims on consumer purchase intention, nutrition attitude and health benefits

9. Literature Review
• Do nutrition content claims:
– Influence nutrition perceptions?
– Influence health perceptions?
– Influence purchase intentions or
choices?
– Influence purchases or consumption?

10. Study Types
Study Type No. of
Studies
Discrete choice experiments 8
Sales data studies 2
Rating experiments 21
Self-report surveys 8
Qualitative studies 4
Literature reviews 3
Miscellaneous 2

11. Discrete choice experiments
From Mueller S, Lockshin L, Louviere J,
Francis L, Osidacz P (2009) How does
shelf information influence consumers' wine
choice? The Australia New Zealand Wine
Industry Journal 24(3):50–56

12. Sales data studies
Low calories
Low fat
From Kiesel K, Villas-Boas SB (2010) Can information
costs affect consumer choice? Nutritional labels in a
supermarket experiment. International Journal of Industrial
Organization, In press doi:10.1016/j.ijindorg.2010.11.002

13. Rating experiments
How likely would you be to buy this product
next time you go to the supermarket?
Very unlikely Very likely to
to purchase purchase

14. Rating experiments
From Lin C-TJ (2008) How do consumers interpret health messages on food labels? Nutrition
Today 43(6):267–272

15. Other studies
• Self-report surveys
• Qualitative studies
• Literature reviews
• Miscellaneous

16. Findings
• Varied across and within study types
• Rating experiments – nutrition information
• Rating experiments vs discrete choice
experiments
• Sales data study
• Interpretation
• Eye tracking
• Influenced but not misled?

17. Mechanisms
• Truncation of information search
• Confirmation bias
• Trivial attribute effect
• Distraction
• Positive associations

18. Conclusions
• Preferences and purchases
• Size and direction will vary
• No evidence for cross-category
influence
• Foods of lower nutritional value
• No influence on perceptions
• Relation to FSANZ research

19. Contact Details
Australia New Zealand
Level 3
Boeing House 154 Featherston Street
55 Blackall Street WELLINGTON 6011
BARTON ACT 2600 NEW ZEALAND
Ph: +61 2 6271 2222 Ph: +64 4 978 5630
Fax: +61 2 6271 2278 Fax: +64 4 473 9855
PO Box 7186 PO Box 10559
Canberra BC ACT 2610 The Terrace, Wellington 6143
Australia New Zealand
Email: info@foodstandards.gov.au info@foodstandards.govt.nz
Website: www.foodstandards.gov.au www.foodstandards.govt.nz