Clicca qui per scaricare

The role of nutritional labeling in promoting healthier food choices: a review of the major issues in the EU (Il ruolo dell’etichettatura nutrizionale per la promozione di scelte alimentari più salutari: una rassegna dei principali temi in discussione nell’UE)
Titolo Rivista:  RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA'
Autori/Curatori: Azzurra Annunziata, Angela Mariani
Anno di pubblicazione: 2016 Fascicolo: 2 Lingua: Inglese
Numero pagine: 13 P. 107-119 Dimensione file: 166 KB
DOI: 10.3280/RISS2016-002010
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più, clicca qui e qui


As the widespread rapid growth of diet-related diseases becomes a major public concern, nutritional labeling is increasingly considered a potential tool to support the goal of changing unhealthy eating habits while retaining consumer freedom of choice. This paper aims to contribute to the institutional debate on the effectiveness of nutritional labeling on the back or front of packaging in promoting healthier food choices, focusing on the EU. The major issues detected and discussed are based on a literature review of recent studies that have examined the limits and potentials of such tools. Finally, we discuss other promising application fields of nutritional labeling, such as on alcoholic beverages and restaurant menus, and present some directions for further research.

La rapida diffusione di malattie non trasmissibili è diventa una preoccupazione prioritaria nell’agenda delle autorità pubbliche. Il presente lavoro si propone di contribuire al dibattito istituzionale sulla efficacia dell'etichetta nutrizionale posta, con diversi formati, sulla parte posteriore o anteriore della confezione dei prodotti nella promozione di scelte alimentari più salutari, concentrandosi sull’UE. I principali temi analizzati sono basati su una rassegna degli studi recenti che hanno esaminato i limiti e le potenzialità di tale strumento. Infine, sono discussi altri campi di applicazione dell'etichettata nutrizionale di particolare rilevanza, in particolare per le bevande alcoliche e i menu dei ristoranti, e sono individuate alcune direzioni per ulteriori ricerche.

Keywords: Scelte alimentari, etichetta nutrizionale, logo qualità nutrizionali, etichette a semaforo, Quantità giornaliere indicative (GDAs), politiche UE.


  1. Annunziata A., Pomarici E., Vecchio R., Mariani A. (2016). Nutritional information and health warnings on wine labels: Exploring consumer interest and preferences. Appetite, 106: 58-69.
  2. Annunziata A., Pomarici E., Vecchio R., Mariani A. (2016). Do Consumers Want More Nutritional and Health Information on Wine Labels? Insights from the EU and USA. Nutrients, 8, 7: 416.
  3. Aschemann-Witzel J., Grunert K.G., van Trijp H.C., Bialkova S., Raats M.M., Hodgkins C., Koenigstorfer J. (2013). Effects of nutrition label format and product assortment on the healthfulness of food choice. Appetite, 71: 63-74.
  4. Barreiro-Hurlé J., Gracia A., De-Magistris T. (2010). Does nutrition information on food products lead to healthier food choices? Food Policy, 35, 3: 221-229.
  5. Bialkova S., Van Trijp H. (2010). What determines consumer attention to nutrition labels? Food Quality and Preference, 21: 1042-1051.
  6. Blitstein J.L., Evans W.D. (2006). Use of nutrition facts panels among adults who make household food purchasing decisions. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 38, 6: 360-364.
  7. Campos S., Doxey J., Hammond D. (2011). Nutrition labels on pre-packaged foods: a systematic review. Public Health Nutrition, 14, 8: 1496-1506.
  8. Carrillo E., Fiszman S., Lähteenmäki L., Varela P. (2014). Consumers’ perception of symbols and health claims as health-related label messages. A cross-cultural study. Food Research International, 62: 653-661.
  9. Caswell J.A., Mojduszka E.M. (1996). Using informational labeling to influence the market for quality in food products. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 78: 1248-1253.
  10. Caswell J.A., Padberg D.I. (1992). Towards a more comprehensive theory of food labels. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 74: 460-468.
  11. Cavaliere A., De Marchi E., Banterle A. (2014). Healthy-unhealthy weight and time preference. Is there an association? An analysis through a consumer survey. Appetite, 83: 135-143.
  12. Consumers International (2015). World Consumer Rights Day 2015: Consumers Rights to Healthy Food Briefing no. 4 Nutrition labelling on pre-packaged foods. http://www.consumersinternational.org/media/1547602/wcrd-2015-ci-brief-4-labelling_eng.pdf. Accessed September 15, 2015.
  13. Codex Alimentarius Commission (2012). Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling.
  14. Cooke R., Papadaki A. (2014). Nutrition label use mediates the positive relationship between nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards healthy eating with dietary quality among university students in the UK. Appetite, 83: 297-303.
  15. Crosetto P., Muller L., Ruffieux B. (2015). Helping consumers with a front-of-pack label: Numbers or colours? Experimental comparison between Guideline Daily Amount and Traffic Light in a diet-building exercise. Journal of Economic Psychology, 55: 30-50.
  16. Drichoutis A.C., Lazaridis P., Nayga R.M. (2006). Consumers’ use of nutritional labels: a review of research studies and issues. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 9, 9: 1-22.
  17. Drichoutis A.C., Lazaridis P., Nayga Jr R.M., Kapsokefalou M., Chryssochoidis G. (2008). A theoretical and empirical investigation of nutritional label use. The European Journal of Health Economics, 9, 3: 293-304.
  18. EUFIC (2016). Global Update on Nutrition Labeling: Executive Summary. http://www.eufic.org/upl/1/default/doc/ExecutiveSummary.pdf. Accessed September 21, 2016.
  19. Golan E., Kuchler F., Mitchell L. (2001). Economics of food labelling, Journal of Consumer Policy, 24: 117-184.
  20. Gracia A., Loureiro M., Nayga R.M. (2007). Do consumers perceive benefits from the implementation of a EU mandatory nutritional labelling program? Food Policy, 32, 2: 160-174.
  21. Graham D.J., Orquin J.L., Visschers V.H. (2012). Eye tracking and nutrition label use: A review of the literature and recommendations for label enhancement. Food Policy, 37, 4: 378-382.
  22. Gregori D., Ballali S., Vögele C., Galasso F., Widhalm K., Berchialla P., Baldi I. (2015). What is the value given by consumers to nutritional label information? Results from a large investigation in Europe. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 34, 2: 120-125.
  23. Grunert K.G., Wills J.M. (2007). A review of European research on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels. Journal of Public Health, 15, 5: 385-399.
  24. Grunert K.G., Fernández-Celemín L., Wills J.M., Storcksdieck Genannt Bonsmann S., Nureeva L. (2010). Use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels in six European countries. Journal of Public Health, 18, 3: 261-277.
  25. Hager M.H., Geiger C., Hill L.J., Martin C., Weiner S., Chianchiano D. (2009). Usefulness of nutrition facts label for persons with chronic kidney disease. Journal of Renal Nutrition, 19, 3: 204-210.
  26. Hawley K.L., Roberto C.A., Bragg M.A., Piu P.J., Schwartz M.B., Brownell K.D. (2013). The science of front-of-package food labels. Public Health Nutrition, 16, 3: 430-439.
  27. Hieke S., Taylor C.R. (2012). A critical review of the literature on nutritional labeling. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 46, 1: 120-156.
  28. Julia C., Blanchet O., Méjean C., Péneau S., Ducrot P., Allès B., Fezeu L.K., Touvier M., Kesse-Guyot E., Singler E., Hercberg S. (2016). Impact of the front-of-pack 5-colour nutrition label (5-CNL) on the nutritional quality of purchases: an experimental study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 13, 101: 1-9.
  29. Kiesel K., McCluskey J.J., Villas-Boas S.B. (2011). Nutritional labeling and consumer choices. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 3, 1: 141-158.
  30. Long M.W., Tobias D.K., Cradock A.L., Batchelder H., Gortmaker S.L. (2015). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of restaurant menu calorie labeling. American Journal of Public Health, 55: 51-60.
  31. Loureiro M.L., Gracia A., Nayga R.M. (2006). Do consumers value nutritional labels? European Review of Agricultural Economics, 33, 2: 249-268.
  32. Mandle J., Tugendhaft A., Michalow J., Hofman K. (2015). Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South. Global Health Action, 8: 25912
  33. Miller L.M., Cassady D.L. (2015). The effects of nutrition knowledge on food label use. A review of the literature. Appetite, 92: 207-216.
  34. Muller L.M., Prevost M. (2016). What cognitive sciences have to say about the impacts of nutritional labelling formats. Journal of Economic Psychology, 55: 17-29.
  35. Nayga R.M. (2000). Nutrition knowledge, gender, and food label use. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 34, 1: 97-112.
  36. Sacks G., Rayner M., Stockley L., Scarborough P., Snowdon W., Swinburn B. (2011). Applications of nutrient profiling: potential role in diet-related chronic disease prevention and the feasibility of a core nutrient-profiling system. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 65, 3: 298-306.
  37. Sacks G., Veerman J.L., Moodie M., Swinburn B. (2011). Traffic-light’nutrition labelling and ‘junk-food’tax: a modelled comparison of cost-effectiveness for obesity prevention. International Journal of Obesity, 35, 7: 1001-1009.
  38. Siegrist M., Leins-Hess R., Keller C. (2015). Which front-of-pack nutrition label is the most efficient one? The results of an eye-tracker study. Food Quality and Preference, 39: 183-190.
  39. Miller L.M.S., Cassady D.L., Applegate E.A., Beckett L.A., Wilson M.D., Gibson, T.N., Ellwood K. (2015). Relationships among food label use, motivation, and dietary quality. Nutrients, 7, 2: 1068-1080.
  40. Van Herpen E., Van Trijp H.C. (2011). Front-of-pack nutrition labels. Their effect on attention and choices when consumers have varying goals and time constraints. Appetite, 57, 1: 148-160.
  41. Van Kleef E., Dagevos H. (2015). The growing role of front-of-pack nutrition profile labeling: A consumer perspective on key issues and controversies. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 55, 3: 291-303.
  42. Van Kleef E., Van Trijp H., Paeps F., Fernandez-Celemin L. (2008). Consumer preferences for front-of-pack calories labelling. Public Health Nutrition, 11, 2: 203-213.
  43. Wang E.Y., Wei H., Caswell J.A. (2016). The impact of mandatory trans fat labeling on product mix and consumer choice: A longitudinal analysis of the US Market for margarine and spreads. Food Policy, 64: 63-81.
  44. WHO (2003). Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. World Health Organization Technical Report Series, Geneva.
  45. Worsley A. (2003). Consumers’ personal values and sources of nutrition information. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 42, 2: 129-151.
Azzurra Annunziata, Angela Mariani, The role of nutritional labeling in promoting healthier food choices: a review of the major issues in the EU in "RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA'" 2/2016, pp. 107-119, DOI:10.3280/RISS2016-002010

     


FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association associazione indipendente e no profit per facilitare l'accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche
Acquista qui

Informazioni sulla rivista
FEED
Sottoscrivi il FEED
per conoscere subito
i contenuti dell'ultimo fascicolo di questa Rivista
English Version
English Version
Download credit
Pubblicità