‘Nutri-Rating’ label might counter deceptive sugar claims on groceries

A brand new evaluation means that the Nutri-Rating—a label indicating the general dietary high quality of a meals product—can counteract the deceptive results of sugar claims. Kristin Jürkenbeck and colleagues of the College of Göttingent, Germany, current these findings within the open-access journal PLOS ONE on August 17, 2022.

Excessive consumption of sugar has been linked to an elevated danger of turning into obese and different well being points. Some corporations due to this fact label merchandise with claims about sugar content material, similar to “with out added sugar” or “much less candy.” Nevertheless, customers might interpret such claims to imply {that a} meals product is more healthy than it truly is.

One other sort of label, the Nutri-Rating, is more and more being utilized in European international locations to tell customers of the general dietary high quality of meals merchandise. Earlier analysis reveals that the Nutri-Rating can certainly information customers to make more healthy meals purchases.

Now, Jürkenbeck and colleagues have examined how the Nutri-Rating may work together with sugar-content labels. In October 2020, they carried out an on-line survey of 1,103 German contributors. The survey requested contributors for his or her perceptions after being introduced with photos of the packaging of three hypothetical merchandise—immediate cappuccino, chocolate muesli, and an oat drink—with completely different mixtures of sugar claims and Nutri-Rating labels.

Statistical evaluation of the survey outcomes means that, when a Nutri-Rating was not current, claims about decreased sugar did certainly mislead contributors into believing that hypothetical merchandise had been more healthy than they really had been. Nevertheless, the presence of a Nutri-Rating counteracted these results, decreasing misconceptions concerning the healthiness of much less dietary meals.

On the premise of those findings, the researchers name for restricted use of sugar content material claims and comparable labels, and necessary use of the Nutri-Rating by corporations that do make such claims. Additionally they name for future analysis to judge the consequences of the Nutri-Rating for extra meals classes and within the context of different promoting claims that might mislead customers about meals healthiness.

The authors add that “vitamin or style claims about sugar on the entrance of packages can enhance the well being notion of meals with poor well being photos.”