In Search of Superiority: Exploring the Effectiveness Gap of Front-of-Pack Nutritional Labels. An Assessment of Consumer’s Decision-Making Process Toward Healthier Food Choices

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to issues on overweight and obesity. This is due to the combined effect of the focus of policymakers, aimed at solving a problem that is currently severely affecting public health in multiple countries, and a rising stream of academic research, directed at identifying the best tools to help customers make healthier food choices within a balanced and varied diet. In this respect, the use of Front-of-Pack Labels (FOPLs) on pre-packaged foods and their impact on consumer decision making have been investigated from multiple angles, with the hope of identifying a FOPL that could be considered undoubtedly superior to all others, and thus worth being standardized through the intervention of supra-national regulatory bodies. Despite utilizing similar theoretical frameworks, two major streams of evidence emerge, depending on the underlying view on how a consumer should be supported (more guided vs. more informed) and the subsequent measurements of objective vs. subjective understanding. While on objective understanding, Summary Labels appear to be more effective, on subjective understanding, Nutrient-Specific ones are more supportive to consumers, when taking an informed food decision. Further research should be developed to arrive at a new unified theory and a clear view on which FOPL could best support consumers in their decision-making toward healthier food choices.