Claims on Ready-to-Eat Cereals: Are Those With Claims Healthier?

María Parra-Murillo,Mercedes Mora-Plazas,Caitlin M Lowery,Luis F Gómez,Lindsey Smith Taillie,Francesca R Dillman Carpentier

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.770489

Abstract

Background: The use of advertising content strategies that suggest consuming a product will confer nutrient- and health-related benefits influences household food purchasing decisions, which increases consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor products. We examined the presence of marketing claims regarding nutrient content, health and nature in ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal packages in relation to the products' nutritional quality.Methods: A cross-sectional content analysis was conducted on 178 RTE cereal packages available in the six largest supermarket chains in four Colombian cities from August to November 2018. The nutritional quality of products was assessed through the nutrient profile model established by the Chilean Law of Food Labeling and Advertising law.Results: All products sampled exceeded the regulation threshold for at least one nutrient of concern (e.g., high-in calories and/or sugar). The majority (66.3%) of packages had claims related to nature, 57.3% had nutrient-content claims, and 15.7% had health benefit or risk avoidance claims. Most products with nature, nutrient-content, and health claims were high in energy (99.2, 98.0, and 92.9%, respectively) and sugar (88.1, 87.3, and 92.9%, respectively).Conclusion: RTE cereal products offered in major Colombian supermarket chains are heavily marketed using nutrition- and nature-related claims. Nearly all products with claims are high in energy and sugar, despite the messages conveyed by the claims to consumers. Results support the implementation of mandatory regulations restricting claims on food and beverage products high in nutrients of concern.

Highlights

Ready-To-Eat (RTE) cereals, as with Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF), are attractive to many consumers because of their taste, price, availability, shelf life, and ready-to-eat nature [1, 2]
Nutrients frequently associated with consumption on increased dietary intake and weight gain [10], which in turn relate to an increased risk of overweight and obesity, abdominal obesity, all-cause mortality, metabolic syndrome, and depression in adults [9, 11]
All the analyzed RTE cereal packages (n = 178) were high in at least one of the nutrients considered in the Chilean Nutrient Profile Model (CNPM), for more information on the nutritional quality of the products, see Supplementary Table 1

Summary

Introduction

Ready-To-Eat (RTE) cereals, as with Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF), are attractive to many consumers because of their taste, price, availability, shelf life, and ready-to-eat nature [1, 2] Such products are often considered highly appealing, are packaged in large servings, and are promoted through marketing messages that claim or imply that purchasing or consuming the product will. Nutrients frequently associated with consumption on increased dietary intake and weight gain [10], which in turn relate to an increased risk of overweight and obesity, abdominal obesity, all-cause mortality, metabolic syndrome, and depression in adults [9, 11] This is a matter of concern if we consider the UPF has been pronounced in Latin America and the Caribbean [12,13,14]. We examined the presence of marketing claims regarding nutrient content, health and nature in ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal packages in relation to the products’ nutritional quality

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion