Assessing the Impact of Front-of-package Nutrient Labels

NCT06673706 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 1641776-8B
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 10,601
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to compare different front-of-package label designs, using two schemes: (1) High In and (2) Nutrition Info with each scheme having (1) a version with colors (i.e., green, yellow, and/or red) indicating level of nutrient content and (2) a black-and-white version. Additionally the Nutrition Info scheme will have a version that includes the percent Daily Value in black and white. Labels will be compared against a no-label control and one another.

Conditions

Nutrition Knowledge; Attitudes; Dietary Habits; Dietary Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Correct assessment of "high" nutrients

  Participants will view 4 foods and indicate whether each food is high in each of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar. A "correct" response is identifying a high-in product as high in the corresponding nutrient and identifying a not high-in product as not high in the corresponding nutrient; otherwise the response is "incorrect". Participants will provide 12 responses (3 nutrients across 4 foods), and the percent correct for each participant will be used as a continuous outcome in linear regression. If the distribution of percent correct is skewed, analysis may use all 12 dichotomous responses in a mixed model, accounting for within subject correlation. In sensitivity analyses, this outcome will be (1) examined by nutrient and (2) dichotomized as correct assessment of all nutrients in each meal.

  Within approximately 5 minutes of intervention exposure

• Perceived healthfulness

  Participants will provide a healthfulness score (response scale from 1-7) for up to 6 different products. The average score across products will be used as a continuous outcome in linear regression models. In sensitivity analyses, scores will be examined by product and product grouping.

  Within approximately 5 minutes of intervention exposure

• Selection of a product high in a nutrient of concern

  Participants will select a food and beverage they would purchase for themselves from hypothetical grocery store shelves displaying foods and beverages. The dichotomous outcome is selection of an item that is high in at least one nutrient of concern (compared to not selecting an item high in at least one nutrient of concern), examined overall and separately for foods and beverages. Analyzed in Poisson regression with robust SE to directly estimate risk ratios.

  Within approximately 5 minutes of intervention exposure

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Perceived message effectiveness

  Within approximately 5 minutes of intervention exposure

Study Arms (6)

No-label Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants will see packaged food-and-beverage items with no front-of-package labels (other than any posted by the manufacturer).

High-In with color

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will see packaged food-and-beverage items displaying front-of-package labels that say, "High In \[nutrient\]" (nutrients: saturated fat, sodium, or added sugar) if the item contains 20% or more of the daily recommended limit per serving for each nutrient. The nutrients will be highlighted in red. If the item is not high in 1 or 2 of the nutrients, the nutrient(s) will not be on the label. If the item is not high in any of the 3 nutrients, the product will not display this label.

Other: Front-of-package label

High-In black and white

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will see packaged food-and-beverage items displaying front-of-package labels that say, "High In \[nutrient\]" (nutrients: saturated fat, sodium, or added sugar) if the item contains 20% or more of the daily recommended limit per serving for each nutrient. The label will have a white background and black text. If the item is not high in 1 or 2 of the nutrients, the nutrient(s) will not be on the label. If the item is not high in any of the 3 nutrients, the product will not display this label.

Other: Front-of-package label

Nutrition Info with color

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will see packaged food-and-beverage items displaying front-of-package labels that list "high", "medium", or "low" for saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. "High" is defined as 20% or more of the daily recommended limit per serving, "medium" as 6-19%, and "low" as 5% or less. The word "high" will be highlighted red; the word "medium" will be highlighted yellow; and the word "low" will be highlighted green.

Other: Front-of-package label

Nutrition Info black and white

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will see packaged food-and-beverage items displaying front-of-package labels that list "high", "medium", or "low" for saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. "High" is defined as 20% or more of the daily recommended limit per serving, "medium" as 6-19%, and "low" as 5% or less. The label will have a white background and black text.

Other: Front-of-package label

Nutrition Info without color, with percent Daily Value

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will see packaged food-and-beverage items displaying front-of-package labels that list "high", "medium", or "low" for saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. "High" is defined as 20% or more of the daily recommended limit per serving, "medium" as 6-19%, and "low" as 5% or less. The label will also list the exact percent of the daily recommended limit (i.e., daily value) for each nutrient per serving. The label will have a white background and black text.

Other: Front-of-package label

Interventions

Front-of-package label OTHER

Participants will see packaged food-and-beverage items displayed with labels as specified by their assigned group

High-In black and white; High-In with color; Nutrition Info black and white; Nutrition Info with color; Nutrition Info without color, with percent Daily Value

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 99 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Equal or greater than 18 years of age
• English-speaking
• U.S. residents
• Have eaten restaurant food at least once in the last month
• Participants will reflect the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey 5-year estimates for gender, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and age

You may not qualify if:

• Failing the attention check question
• Completing the survey in less than 33% of the median completion time

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Davis: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of California, Davis

Davis, California, 96516, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Behavior; Feeding Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Animal

Study Officials

• Jennifer Falbe, ScD, MPH

  University of California, Davis

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 24, 2024
• First Posted: November 5, 2024
• Study Start: December 23, 2024
• Primary Completion: February 13, 2025
• Study Completion: February 13, 2025
• Last Updated: June 25, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)