Consumer susceptibility to front-of-package (FOP) food labeling: Scale development and validation

Abstract

Current research in food science has explored the influence of front-of-package (FOP) labeling systems on consumer decision-making, yielding mixed results. We suggest that these inconsistent findings regarding FOP labeling effectiveness stem from a failure to consider a pivotal individual-level variable: consumer susceptibility to FOP labeling (CSFL). In the present research, we define this focal construct and develop and psychometrically validate a seven-item instrument that captures the construct across six studies (N = 1134). The current research may assist in segmenting consumers based on their susceptibility to FOP labeling, thereby facilitating the creation of targeted interventions tailored to this individual difference. Notably, the CSFL scale is positively correlated with consumers’ willingness to purchase food items with genuine, third-party FOP labels, but not products lacking labels or products with fictitious FOP labels. This supports the predictive validity of the scale in determining important consumption-related outcomes.