Supermarket Food Research Articles

Food-trade-associated COVID-19 outbreak from a contaminated wholesale food supermarket in Beijing

The re-emerging outbreak of COVID-19 in Beijing, China, in the summer of 2020 originated from a SARS-CoV-2-infested wholesale food supermarket. We postulated that the Xinfadi market outbreak has links with food-trade activities. Our Susceptible to the disease, Infectious, and Recovered coupled Agent Based Modelling (SIR-ABM) analysis for studying the diffusion of SARS-CoV-2 particles suggested that the trade-distancing strategy effectively reduces the reproduction number (R0). The retail shop closure strategy reduced the number of visitors to the market by nearly half. In addition, the buy-local policy option reduced the infection by more than 70% in total. Therefore, retail closures and buy-local policies could serve as significantly effective strategies that have the potential to reduce the size of the outbreak and prevent probable outbreaks in the future.

The nature of food promotions over one year in circulars from leading Belgian supermarket chains

BackgroundTo examine the proportion of healthier and less healthy food promotions in circulars of major Belgian supermarket chains.MethodsFood promotions were collected from all circulars over 1 year from the five largest Belgian supermarket chains. Foods promoted were classified according to the World Health Organization Europe nutrient profile model categories and the level and purpose of processing as per the NOVA classification. In addition, promotional characters (i.e. cartoons, licensed characters, celebrities) and premium offers within the promotions were analysed.ResultsIn total, 15,271 food promotions were analyzed. The most frequently promoted foods in circulars were processed meat, poultry and fish (11.8%); fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and legumes (9.5%); soft drinks and sweetened beverages (9.0%); fresh and frozen meat, poultry, fish and eggs (8.6%); cakes, sweet biscuits and pastries (8.1%); ready-made and convenience foods (8.0%); chocolate and sugar confectionery; energy bars and sweet toppings (7.7%) and cheeses (5.7%). About 52.2% of food promotions across all circulars were for ultra-processed foods, with considerable variation across chains (42.9–61.6%).Promotional characters and premium offers were found within 5.3 and 19.5% of promotions respectively. For all chains, circular covers were healthier compared to entire circulars, with a lower proportion of ultra-processed foods and a higher proportion of fresh fruit and vegetables promoted.ConclusionsFood promotions in circulars were most frequently for ultra-processed foods, with considerable variation across chains. Circular covers were healthier than entire circulars. Policies to reduce less healthy food promotions could contribute to improving the healthiness of supermarket food purchases.

An assessment of broiler value chain in Nigeria

Abstract Livestock sub-sector of agriculture plays a vital role in the development of emerging economies in terms of provision of high quality protein and employment generation through its value chain activities. Yet, little is known about value chain development in this important sub-sector of the Nigeria economy. Hence, this study assessed Broiler Value Chain (BVC) in Nigeria. Primary data were collected from various actors along the value chain between November 2017 and March, 2018. Nigeria BVC is relatively simple with only five main actors. Grandparent Stock (GPS) farmers supply breeder Day Old Chicks (DOCs) to Parent Stock (PS) farmers. PS farmers supply commercial DOCs to commercial broiler farmers. Commercial farmers sell mature broilers to mature live broiler marketers (63%) and processors (37%). Processors sell processed meat to household consumers (12%) and 88% to fast food outlets, hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets with no export who in turn sell to individual and household consumers. High cost of feed, lack of credit facilities, and weak infrastructure were the major constraints facing production, marketing, and processing of broilers, respectively. Policies aiming at the development of BVC should focus on low/no export of broiler meat and high import of materials as well as other constraints.

A Theoretical Framework on the Determinants of Food Purchasing Behavior of the Elderly: A Bibliometric Review with Scientific Mapping in Web of Science.

The past few years have seen significant demographic changes in most regions, including an increased elderly population. Subsequently, elderly citizens comprise an important market segment of consumers, with the food industry one of the most affected areas in this context. However, food market managers previously believed that elderly consumers’ needs were stereotyped in nature. The lack of focus on this sector, therefore, left elderly consumers as an untapped market, without realizing the financial independence of this segment regarding their nutrition. This research will attempt to provide the key determinant factors on elderly consumers’ behavior related to food. For that purpose, a complete literature review of more than 123 papers regarding these concepts has been carried out. Once analyzed, we highlight the common insights to give clear guidance for supermarket managers and food manufacturers to have a better knowledge of the reasons behind elderly people’s food acquisitions.

Inflação de alimentos no Brasil em período da pandemia da Covid 19, continuidade e mudanças

Desde 2007, os preços dos alimentos sobem mais intensamente do que o conjunto dos preços ao consumidor no Brasil. O objetivo do trabalho é comparar a inflação de alimentos no primeiro semestre de 2020 com a de 2007 e 2019, verificando se houve mudanças em suas características e razões. Usam-se informações do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) que permitem analisar o Índice de Preços ao Consumidor Amplo (IPCA) e seus componentes. Entre 2007 e 2019, preços da alimentação fora do domicílio expandiram-se mais que da alimentação no domicílio. Entre os componentes desta, os preços dos menos processados aumentaram mais do que os dos mais processados, indicando que a origem da inflação de alimentos foi agropecuária, com as carnes tendo grande contribuição para o fato. Por sua vez, no primeiro semestre de 2020, produtos sem comércio exterior significativo, feijão, arroz, frutas, legumes e verduras, pressionaram mais a inflação. Em todo o período, as condições de comércio exterior, preço internacional e taxa de câmbio, tiveram forte influência na inflação de alimentos. No primeiro semestre de 2020, entre as causas, ganhou relevância o aumento da demanda de alimentos nos supermercados, aparentemente não acompanhado pela expansão da oferta.

Impact of organic loading rate and reactor design on thermophilic anaerobic digestion of mixed supermarket waste

A mixture of supermarket food waste from bakery, butchery, cooked meats and cheese, fishmonger, fruit, and vegetable sections was subjected to anaerobic digestion under thermophilic conditions (55 °C). Lab-scale induced bed reactors (IBR) and completely stirred tank reactors (CSTR) were operated at different organic loading rates (OLR), i.e., 3.0, 3.6 and 4.6 kg volatile solids (VS) per m3 of reactor and day.Regardless of the type of reactor, an OLR of 3.6 kg VS/m3·day was found to be the optimum, achieving up to 48.1% more methane production per kg of treated waste than for the other OLRs tested. In general, there were no statistically significant differences (p-value < 0.05) between IBR and CSTR performance at the same OLR tested. However, for the optimum OLR, the IBR achieved a mean methane production of 1.5 L CH4/Lreactor·day (426.7 L CH4/kg VS) and the highest VS removal (89.0%, on average). This reactor obtained 22.1% more CH4 yield than the analogous CSTR and the highest methane content in the biogas (66.9% CH4).Finally, the process was successfully tested under large-scale conditions (1.25 m3 IBR pilot-plant). The CH4 production and the biodegradation yield were in line with those obtained in the lab-scale IBR.

Availability and access to food in supermarkets before and during the Covid-19 pandemic in a mid-size city

ABSTRACT Objective To investigate the availability and price of fresh and ultra-processed foods in supermarkets before and during the Covid-19 pandemic in a mid-size city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Methods Ecological and longitudinal study. A proportionate stratified random sampling method was applied to supermarkets in the municipality. To assess the availability, variety, and price of fresh and ultra-processed foods, we applied the Estudo do Ambiente Obesogênico em São Paulo (ESAO, Obesogenic Environment Study in São Paulo, Brazil) Food Store Observation Tool questionnaire and calculated the Healthy Food Store Index. The audits took place from December 2019 to January 2020, and we returned to the establishments in September 2020. Descriptive analyzes, McNemar tests, paired Student's T or Wilcoxon tests were performed using the SPSS software, version 20.0, with a 5% significance level. Results Ten supermarkets were evaluated. The prices of oranges (p=0.012), bananas (p=0.043), apples (p=0.004), and onions (p=0.004) were significantly increased during the time frame. Sugar-free soft drinks (p=0.044), powdered drinks (p=0.032), and corn snacks (p=0.015) showed a greater variety of brands and flavors during the pandemic. The Healthy Food Store Index score was 9.50±0.85 before the pandemic and 9.00±1.15 during it. Conclusion The prices of some fruits and vegetables increased, and supermarkets sold a greater variety of ultra-processed foods. Such findings highlight the importance of assessing the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the food environment.

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New rules to be brought into force later this year to encourage healthy eating, including banning promotions on unhealthy foods in supermarkets

Effects of Labelling and Increasing the Proportion of Lower-Energy Density Products on Online Food Shopping: A Randomised Control Trial in High- and Low-Socioeconomic Position Participants.

Reducing the energy density (ED) of product selections made during online supermarket food shopping has potential to decrease energy intake. Yet it is unclear which types of intervention are likely to be most effective and equitable. We recruited 899 UK adults of lower and higher socioeconomic position (SEP) who completed a shopping task in an online experimental supermarket. Participants were randomised in a 2 × 2 between-subjects design to test the effects of two interventions on the ED of shopping basket selections: labelling lower-ED products as healthier choices and increasing the relative availability of lower-ED products within a range (referred to as proportion). Labelling of lower-ED products resulted in a small but significant decrease (−4.2 kcal/100 g, 95% CIs −7.8 to −0.6) in the ED of the shopping basket. Increasing the proportion of lower-ED products significantly decreased the ED of the shopping basket (−17 kcal/100 g, 95% CIs −21 to −14). There was no evidence that the effect of either intervention was moderated by SEP. Thus, both types of intervention decreased the ED of foods selected in an online experimental supermarket. There was no evidence that the effectiveness of either intervention differed in people of lower vs. higher SEP.

Are food and drink available in online and physical supermarkets the same? A comparison of product availability, price, price promotions and nutritional information.

Online supermarkets are increasingly used both by consumers and as a source of data on the food environment. We compared product availability, nutritional information, front-of-pack (FOP) labelling, price and price promotions for food and drink products between physical and online supermarkets. For physical stores, we collected data on price, price promotions, FOP nutrition labels and nutrition information from a random sample of food and drinks from six UK supermarkets. For online stores, we used foodDB, a research-ready dataset of over 14 million observations of food and drink products available in online supermarkets. Six large supermarket stores located near Oxford, UK. General sample with 295 food and drink products, plus boost samples for both fruit and vegetables, and alcohol. In the general sample, 85 % (95 % CI 80, 90 %) of products found in physical stores could be matched with an online product. Nutritional information found in the two settings was almost identical, for example, concordance correlation coefficient for energy = 0·995 (95 % CI 0·993, 0·996). The presence of FOP labelling and price promotions differed between the two settings (Cohen's kappa = 0·56 (95 % CI 0·45, 0·66) and 0·40 (95 % CI 0·26, 0·55), respectively). Prices were similar between online and physical supermarkets (concordance correlation coefficient > 0·9 for all samples). Product availability, nutritional information and prices sourced online for these six retailers are good proxies of those found in physical stores. Price promotions and FOP labelling vary between the two settings. Further research should investigate whether this could impact on health inequalities.

Associations between Governmental Policies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Supermarket Purchases and Individual, Retailer, and Community Health Outcomes: An Integrative Review.

Supermarkets are natural and important settings for implementing environmental interventions to improve healthy eating, and governmental policies could help improve the nutritional quality of purchases in this setting. This review aimed to: (1) identify governmental policies in the United States (U.S.), including regulatory and legislative actions of federal, tribal, state, and local governments, designed to promote healthy choices in supermarkets; and (2) synthesize evidence of these policies’ effects on retailers, consumers, and community health. We searched five policy databases and developed a list of seven policy actions that meet our inclusion criteria: calorie labeling of prepared foods in supermarkets; increasing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; financial incentives for the purchase of fruit and vegetables; sweetened beverage taxes; revisions to the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food package; financial assistance for supermarkets to open in underserved areas; and allowing online purchases with SNAP. We searched PubMed, Econlit, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Business Source Ultimate to identify peer-reviewed, academic, English-language literature published at any time until January 2020; 147 studies were included in the review. Sweetened beverage taxes, revisions to the WIC food package, and financial incentives for fruits and vegetables were associated with improvements in dietary behaviors (food purchases and/or consumption). Providing financial incentives to supermarkets to open in underserved areas and increases in SNAP benefits were not associated with changes in food purchasing or diet quality but may improve food security. More research is needed to understand the effects of calorie labeling in supermarkets and online SNAP purchasing.

The effect of a shelf placement intervention on sales of healthier and less healthy breakfast cereals in supermarkets: A co-designed pilot study.

Supermarkets are the principal source of grocery food in many high-income countries. Choice architecture strategies show promise to improve the healthiness of food choices. A retailer-academic collaboration was formed to co-design and pilot selected commercially sustainable strategies to increase sales of healthier foods relative to less healthy foods in supermarkets. Two co-design workshops, involving supermarket corporate staff and public health nutrition academics, identified potential interventions. One intervention, more prominent shelf placement of healthier products within one category (breakfast cereals), was selected for testing. A pilot study (baseline, intervention and follow-up, 12-weeks each) was undertaken in six supermarkets (three intervention and three control) in Auckland, New Zealand. Products were ranked by nutrient levels and profile, and after accounting for the supermarkets' space management principles, healthier products were placed at adult eye level. The primary outcome was change in sales of healthier products relative to total category sales. Secondary outcomes were nutrient profile of category sales, in-store product promotions, customer perceptions, and retailer feedback. There was no difference in proportional sales of more prominently positioned healthier products between intervention (56%) and control (56%) stores during the intervention. There were no differences in the nutrient profile of category sales. A higher proportion of less healthy breakfast cereals were displayed in intervention versus control stores (57% vs 43%). Most customers surveyed supported shelf placement as a strategy (265, 88%) but noted brand preferences and price were more salient determinants of purchases. Retailers were similarly supportive but balancing profit, health/nutrition and customer satisfaction was challenging. Shelf placement alone was not an effective strategy to increase purchases of healthier breakfast cereals. This study showed co-design of a healthy eating intervention with a commercial retailer is feasible, but concurrent retail environment factors likely limited the public health impact of the intervention.

The habitual nature of food purchases at the supermarket: Implications for policy making

Supermarkets have become the most important provider of food products worldwide. However, empirical evidence about how consumers make their food purchase decisions in this environment is still scarce. The present field study aimed to: i) explore how people make their in-store food purchases, and ii) identify the information they search for when making those purchases. Consumers (n = 144) were intercepted when entering the facilities of three supermarkets in two Uruguayan cities. They were asked to wear a mobile eye-tracker while they made their purchases as they normally do. The great majority of the consumers bought at least one food product or beverage (92%) and, on average, examined products from 2.8 sections. In total, they investigated 37 categories within 13 self-service sections, corresponding to 26 categories of ultra-processed products. For 67% of the products, consumers went straight to the product they seemed to be looking for, grabbed it and put it in their shopping basket or cart, without making any comparison among products. A limited information search was observed. On average, consumers spent 22 s examining products within self-service sections and only 6.9 s were elapsed from the moment they grabbed a product until they put it in the shopping cart. These results provide empirical evidence of the habitual nature of supermarket food purchases in a context characterized by wide availability of ultra-processed products. Taken together, the findings suggest that policies and interventions aimed at reducing purchases of ultra-processed products should disrupt habitual decisions at the point of purchase. In this sense, policies targeted at introducing salient changes on food packages hold potential to disrupt food purchases and encourage consumers to establish new and more healthful food purchase habits.

Availability and placement of healthy and discretionary food in Australian supermarkets by chain and level of socio-economic disadvantage.

The current study aimed to investigate availability and placement of healthy and discretionary (less healthy) food in supermarkets in Victoria, Australia, and examine variation by supermarket chain and area-level socio-economic disadvantage. Cross-sectional supermarket audit. Measures included: (i) proportion of shelf space (in square metres) allocated to selected healthy and discretionary food and beverages; (ii) proportion of end-of-aisle, checkout and island bin displays containing discretionary food and beverages and (iii) proportion of space within end-of-aisle, checkout and island bin displays devoted to discretionary food and beverages. Metropolitan areas of Melbourne and Geelong, Australia. Assessment: June-July 2019. Random sample of 104 stores, with equal numbers from each supermarket group (Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Independent stores) within strata of area-level socio-economic position. Proportion of shelf space devoted to selected discretionary foods was greater for Independent stores (72·7 %) compared with Woolworths (65·7 %), Coles (64·8 %) and Aldi (63·2 %) (all P < 0·001). Proportion of shelf space devoted to selected discretionary food for all Coles, Woolworths and Aldi stores was 9·7 % higher in the most compared with the least disadvantaged areas (P = 0·002). Across all stores, 90 % of staff-assisted checkout displays and 50 % of end-of-aisle displays included discretionary food. Aldi was less likely to feature discretionary food in end-of-aisle and checkout displays compared with other supermarket groups. Extensive marketing of discretionary food in all Australian supermarket chains was observed, which is likely to strongly influence purchasing patterns and population diets. Findings should be used to inform private and public sector policies to reduce marketing of discretionary food in supermarkets.

Mexican households' food shopping patterns in 2015: analysis following nonessential food and sugary beverage taxes.

To examine patterns of taxed and untaxed food and beverage shopping across store types after Mexico's sugary drink and non-essential food taxes, the nutritional quality of these patterns and the socio-economic characteristics associated with them. We performed k-means cluster analyses using households' percentage of food and beverage purchases from each store type (i.e. convenience stores, traditional shops (e.g. bodegas, tiendas, mom-and-pop shops), supermarkets, wholesalers and others). We calculated adjusted mean proportions of taxed and untaxed products (ml or g/capita per d) purchased in each pattern. We studied the associations between households' SES and shopping patterns using multinomial logistic regressions. Within shopping patterns, we obtained mean volumes and proportions of taxed and untaxed food and beverage subgroups and calculated the proportion of products purchased at each store type. Mexico. Urban Mexican households (n 5493) from the Nielsen Mexico Consumer Panel Survey 2015. We found four beverage shopping patterns and three food shopping patterns, driven by the store type where most purchases were made. For beverages, 48 % of households were clustered in the Traditional pattern and purchased the highest proportion of taxed beverages. Low-SES households had the highest probability of clustering in the Traditional beverage shopping pattern. For foods, 35 % of households were clustered into the Supermarket pattern. High-SES households had the highest probability of clustering in the Supermarket food shopping pattern. The combination of store types where Mexican households purchase packaged foods and beverages varies. However, households in all shopping patterns and SES purchase taxed beverages mainly at traditional stores. Store-level strategies should be developed to intervene on traditional stores to improve the healthfulness of purchases.

Evaluation of bacterial population using multiple sampling methods and the identification of bacteria detected on supermarket food contact surfaces

This study tested multiple methods for assessing microbial populations and identified bacteria detected on supermarket food-contact surfaces. The results for culture medium–based conventional methods, i.e., swabbing, direct count, sampling discs, and Petrifilm, showed that surface cleaning was satisfactory. However, direct epifluorescence microscopy (DEM) and bioluminescence detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) showed that surface cleaning was unsatisfactory. The surfaces of the fruit and vegetables section were the most contaminated, followed by the sections for cured meats and cheeses, fresh seafood, the aisles of the sections tested, meat, and yogurts and desserts. Likewise, significantly higher microbiological counts were observed on painted wood than on stainless steel, plastic, and painted epoxy surfaces (p < 0.05). Room-temperature food storage areas had higher bacterial counts than refrigerated areas (p < 0.05). Although no Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, or Staphylococcus aureus were detected, opportunistic pathogenic bacteria such as coagulase-negative staphylococci, Listeria grayi, and Pseudomonas spp. were isolated. Furthermore, the identification of the opportunistic and emerging foodborne pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii and the indicator of bacterial contamination Escherichia coli demonstrates potential risks to consumer health. Moreover, the Enterobacteriaceae count was low; however, the high total microbiological count detected by DEM indicates that cleaning and disinfection procedures should be improved. Compared to conventional methods, the use of DEM with stainless-steel disc surfaces as sampling support could increase the accuracy of detecting and enumerating microbial populations on surfaces by identifying residual bacteria after inadequate disinfection procedures.

Microbial Changes in Ready-to-use Packaged Food from Supermarkets and Self-prepared during Storage at 6-9°C

Ready-to-use packaged food sampled from supermarkets was stored at 6-9°C for 0 (fresh), 2 or 4 days. Meat, sea food, fish and vegetables purchased from traditional markets were prepared for use packaged food and well wrapped with PS/PVC film, under the same storage conditions as above. The total aerobic plate counts of all samples increased during storage for 4 days. Coliforms were detected in all samples whereas Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in some foods such as fish, meat and sea food. Staphylococcal enterotoxin types found in ready-to-use packaged food from the supermarket and self-prepared foods are different, but types A, B were common types. The microbial changes were similar in different preparation methods(one is "cut then wash", the other is "wash then cut").

Evaluation of the Methane Potential and Kinetics of Supermarket Food Waste

The methane potential of supermarket food waste (SMW) has scarcely been determined, especially at 55 °C. In this paper, the different types of SMW generated in a chain of supermarkets have been characterized over a period of 1 year. Batch anaerobic digestion tests employing six different mixtures of SMW were conducted under thermophilic conditions. Start-up was very rapid, with lag-phase values < 1 day, reaching peak methane production rates before day 5. The observed methane yields ranged between 453 and 678 L/kg VS. The highest value was obtained with the mixture including waste generated from all the different sections of the supermarket (fish, fruit and vegetables, butchery, bakery, and charcuterie), followed by the mixture not including fruit and vegetable waste, with no statistical significant differences between these values. The lowest value was obtained when bakery waste was not included in the mixture. The results are consistent with the observed degradation in volatile solids, ranging from 78 to 91%. The modified Gompertz kinetic model provided a better fit than the first-order kinetic model, with R2 values higher than 0.994 and deviations between experimental and theoretical values ranging from 1.5 to 6.1%. The technical digestion time (t80–t90) was calculated to range between 11.5 and 14 days, with the exception of the substrate containing all five types of waste generated in the supermarket, which ranged between 14.5 and 17 days. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed the further deterioration and size reduction of particles in the substrate producing the highest methane yield.

The Representation of Food-Related Environments in Virtual Reality

Abstract Objectives Virtual reality (VR) potentially provides an innovative tool for nutrition education/counselling. The objective of this study was to determine the a) sense of ‘presence’ (the feeling of being in a scene) experienced in two food related VR scenes b) capture information regarding the participants experiences in VR. Methods Two 3D, food-related scenes were created for this study: supermarket or fast food restaurant. The scenes were displayed using a VR head mounted display or on a standard PC monitor. The participants were able to move around each scene and could interact with various elements to obtain nutrition information about a food. Thirty-one adults were recruited for this study and reported to the laboratory on 4 occasions separated by at least 48 hours. Participants were randomized to a treatment order. On reporting to the laboratory, the participants had surface electrodes attached to determine heart rate and electrodermal activity. The participant was then required to sit quietly for 10 minutes for baseline measures to be collected. Then, in the VR treatments, a VR headset was placed on the participants head and the relevant scene displayed. For the PC treatments, the same scenes were displayed on a PC monitor. The participants were required to remain in the different scenes for at least 5 minutes. Then, the headset was removed and the participant completed questionnaires regarding their experiences in the VR and PC scenes. Results Participants ranged in age from &amp;lt;25 years to over 65 years. All participants used computers in their daily life but generally had no or little experience in VR. Participants reported a higher sense of presence in the VR treatments compared to the PC treatments (P &amp;lt; 0.05). The VR scenes also created a greater sense of the scene being the ‘dominant reality’ and elicited a greater sense that the participant were actually in the scene (P &amp;lt; 0.05). There was no difference in the participant's ability to complete tasks in the VR and PC scenes. Moreover, feelings of nausea were not different between the VR and PC scenes. The participant's heart rate was significantly higher in the VR treatments (P &amp;lt; 0.05). Conclusions This study provides data that supports the development of VR as a nutrition education/counselling tool. Further research is required to develop VR as an effective education tool. Funding Sources None.

Effects of front-of-pack labels on the nutritional quality of supermarket food purchases: evidence from a large-scale randomized controlled trial

To examine whether four pre-selected front-of-pack nutrition labels improve food purchases in real-life grocery shopping settings, we put 1.9 million labels on 1266 food products in four categories in 60 supermarkets and analyzed the nutritional quality of 1,668,301 purchases using the FSA nutrient profiling score. Effect sizes were 17 times smaller on average than those found in comparable laboratory studies. The most effective nutrition label, Nutri-Score, increased the purchases of foods in the top third of their category nutrition-wise by 14%, but had no impact on the purchases of foods with medium, low, or unlabeled nutrition quality. Therefore, Nutri-Score only improved the nutritional quality of the basket of labeled foods purchased by 2.5% (−0.142 FSA points). Nutri-Score’s performance improved with the variance (but not the mean) of the nutritional quality of the category. In-store surveys suggest that Nutri-Score’s ability to attract attention and help shoppers rank products by nutritional quality may explain its performance.