ONLY ONE IN FIVE CHECK COLOUR CODED NUTRITION
According to a new study by the European Food Information Council, only one in five Euro consumers check colour coded food for nutrition. It suggests some schemes are open to misinterpretation. For example 73% of the study assumed that a red light indicated they should avoid eating a product.
The 17,300 person study took place in France, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Poland and the UK, and questionis were asked both in store and in the home. It found that an average of 30 seconds was spent selecting a product, which is higher than previously assumed. the UK shopper took 25 seconds which was the quickest in the study. Hungarians were slowest taking 57 seconds.
However consumers themselves were confident that they understood the systems because 50% could interpret the GDA panals and other nutritional information.
Prof Klaus Grunert of The University Of Aarhus, Denmark (who conducted the study) said “While there are several nutrition labelling schemes across Europe, our findings show that people recognise them and generally know how to use them to make informed nutrition choices”.
He continued, “Nutrition labelling should be seen as a key element in a rounded public health strategy.”
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