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Changes in Front‐of‐Pack Food Labeling from 2007‐2014
Author(s) -
Hoffmann A,
Colby S,
Jahns L
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.382.2
Subject(s) - sugar , saturated fat , food science , added sugar , food marketing , high sodium , business , sodium , chemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry , cholesterol
Objective : The objectives were to describe the proportions of packaged foods with front‐of pack (FOP) nutrition marketing or marketing to children that were high in saturated fat, sodium, and/or sugar content, and changes in the proportions from 2007 to 2014. Methods FOP nutrition marketing, child marketing, and nutrient criteria from the Nutrition Facts Label on all packaged food items in a large Midwestern supermarket were recorded in 2007 (n = 5,500) and again in 2014 (n = 6,324). Products were coded as high or not high in saturated fat (>20% daily value), sodium (>20% daily value), and/or sugar (fruit or milk based products 蠅21 g sugar and non‐fruit or milk based 蠅6 g sugar). The data were weighted by number of product variations and chi‐square analyses and frequency distributions were computed. Results The proportion of products with FOP nutrition marketing was greater in 2014 (62%) than in 2007 (49%) (p <0.001). Of those products with nutrition marketing in 2014, 44.7% had nutrition marketing and were high in saturated fat, sodium, and/or sugar, compared to 48% in 2007. Only 3.1% of all products were marketed towards children in 2014, compared to 16% in 2007; 78.1% also had nutrition marketing in 2014 compared with 71% in 2007. Of those child‐marketed products with nutrition marketing in 2014, 71.3% were high in saturated fat, sodium, and/or sugar which was greater than the 58.6% found in 2007 (p <0.001). A food company symbol was the most common marketing tactic in all product categories. Conclusions Products marketed to children in 2014 more often had FOP nutrition marketing and were high in saturated fat, sodium, and/or sugar. This may suggest that clinicians should advise consumers to evaluate products based on the Nutrition Facts Label. Funding provided by GFHNRC, USDA‐ARS.