It's no secret – the food we eat impacts our health in big ways, and a new study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has given some food for thought when it comes to nutrition labels, potentially setting the stage for healthier grub on grocery shelves. According to research released by UMass Amherst, a French government-backed food labeling system introduced in 2017, dubbed Nutri-Score, has been pivotal in coercing food manufacturers to make their products healthier.
Christoph Bauner, an assistant professor of resource economics at UMass Amherst, along with doctoral candidate Rajib Rahman, has painstakingly sifted through product and nutrition data from 2014 to 2021. Their research uncovered that food products in France have, in fact, become significantly healthier after Nutri-Score's implementation. In stark contrast, comparable items in Italy and the UK, which haven't adopted the system, have not seen such improvements. Nutri-Score, now in use across 10 European countries, assigns a simple grade to foods from A for 'ace' (healthiest) to E for 'eh' (unhealthiest), pressuring companies to directly address their nutritional value.
"We find front-of-package labeling can be effective at giving consumers healthier choices," Bauner said, which appeared on the UMass Amherst news website. Manufacturers have been not to subtly tweaking their recipes to score a better grade – a move known as "bunching." This shows just how vital the design of such labeling systems can be, according to the study.
The scouring of nearly 6,000 products in three food categories tells its own tale. The analysis looked into breakfast cereals, potato and popcorn snacks, foods renowned for their processing and, therefore, ripe for nutritional improvement. Firms with mostly junk in their line-up would rather skip the label altogether, the study notes – this is an indicator of how the presence of a label can subtly coax brands to aim higher nutritionally.
While consumer reactions to these labels have been under the magnifying glass, the real game-changer might well be how manufacturers are responding by reformulating their products. This could be crucial, considering diet's heavy hand in driving health issues like obesity, heart conditions, and diabetes. The USA doesn't currently enforce mandatory front-of-package labeling, but some food companies voluntarily provide nutritional info up front. Moreover, there's been chatter in the legislator's corridors about nudging the FDA towards developing a standardized labeling system.
Bauner's advice, "Generally speaking, any commonsense labeling system is likely to move things in the right direction, but its effectiveness could vary quite a bit based on the specifics," he mentioned in the study summary. The move to a more transparent labeling system could be a strategic win for consumers' health, provided it's cleverly designed and executed. The study titled "The effect of front-of-package nutrition labelling on product composition," finds its home in the European Review of Agricultural Economics and offers an empirical glimpse into the future of food labeling's potential to enrich the American diet, according to the UMass Amherst news website.
