Impact of front-of-package nutrition labels on acceptability and objective understanding: A randomized experiment in Latin American adults

Abstract

the aim of the study was to test the objective understanding and acceptability of different kinds of front-of-package nutrition labels (GDA, MTL, Nutri-Score, and WL) among an international sample of Latin American adult consumers. From April to July 2022, a five-arm, unblinded, online randomized experiment was conducted as part of the broader “Nutritional Labeling Study among Latin American Consumers.” A cross-sectional online survey was applied to adults aged ≥18 years from five Latin American countries: Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Panama. The study assesses several domains of nutrition labeling, including objective understanding, acceptability, and potential impact on purchase intentions. For this study,Of the 10,394 potential participants who agreed to take part in the study, 1508 did not pass the data quality check (completed the survey in less than 15 min). In total, 8886 participants were recruited, completed the survey, and were retained in the analyses (Argentina: 1792; Colombia: 1190; Ecuador: 1203; Mexico: 3283; and Panama: 1418) (Fig. 3). In all countries, the majority were female (58%), aged between 18 and 29 years (66%), divorced, single, or widowed (73%), with a normal.Our findings underscore the potential of the WL labeling system as an option to aid consumers in improving purchasing decisions. Specifically, WL may be particularly effective in helping Latin American consumers correctly identify products with high contents of critical nutrients related to non-communicable diseases. Considering that WL have been successfully implemented in various Latin American countries and are aligned with international recommendations to address unhealthy food.