Consumer response to calorie base variations on the graphical nutrient density food label

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a supermarket study of the graphical nutrient density food label format. The graphical nutrient density label format presents information in a graphical display (rather than the current numeric presentation) and allows consumers to compare how much nutritional value, in terms of percentage of U.S. RDA, they will receive from a food relative to the amount of calories (in terms of some estimate of daily needs) that food will provide. The study tested the effects of variations in calorie base level used on the graphical food label and the presence or absence of a calorie base identification statement on consumer perceptions of the nutritional quality of food products. Findings indicated that calorie base level affected consumer estimations of nutritional quality, with food quality estimations declining monotonically as calorie base used declined. In addition, consumers perceived nutritionally identical foods to be of higher nutritional quality when a calorie base identification statement was present on a food label than when it was absent. Among the implications of the study for policymakers and the food industry is the finding that merely adding a calorie base identification statement to the graphical nutrient density label had an impact on consumer perceptions of nutrient quality.