NCT07214792

Brief Summary

The primary objective of this study is to explore perceptions and understanding of different menu label designs related to sustainability and environmental harm. Participants will be randomized to view a fast-food menu featuring one of seven labeling conditions and then will answer questions about the participant's reactions to and interpretations of the label, perceived label effectiveness, intention to purchase a menu item with the label, as well as perceptions of two fast-food menu items.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
14,720

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Oct 2025

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 6, 2025

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 9, 2025

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

October 9, 2025

Completed
24 days until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

November 2, 2025

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

November 2, 2025

Completed
Last Updated

January 7, 2026

Status Verified

January 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

24 days

First QC Date

October 6, 2025

Last Update Submit

January 5, 2026

Conditions

Food Choices

Keywords

Food labelingSustainabilityFast Food

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Intention to purchase

    Intention to purchase is measured with the survey question: "How likely would you be to purchase a menu item with this label?" Response options are a 7-point Likert scale: 1=Very unlikely, 2=Unlikely, 3=Somewhat unlikely, 4=Neither likely nor unlikely, 5=Somewhat likely, 6=Likely, 7=Very likely. A higher rating is better.

    Immediately after viewing the menu excerpt and label image

Secondary Outcomes (6)

  • Label interpretation

    Immediately after viewing the menu excerpt

  • Perceived label understandability

    Immediately after viewing the menu excerpt and label image

  • Perceived label believability

    Immediately after viewing the menu excerpt and label image

  • Perception that label grabbed attention

    Immediately after viewing the menu excerpt and label image

  • Perceived message effectiveness (PME) as assessed by the University of North Carolina (UNC)-PME scale

    Immediately after viewing the menu excerpt and label image

  • +1 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (3)

  • Perceived level of appeal of food items

    Immediately after viewing each menu item

  • Perceived level of healthfulness of food item

    Immediately after viewing each menu item

  • Perceived level of environmental impact of food item

    Immediately after viewing each menu item

Study Arms (7)

Control (QR) labels

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

A black label featuring a QR code and white text that reads "SCAN HERE" will be placed beneath all main menu items.

Behavioral: Control (QR) Labels

Low Sustainability Labels

EXPERIMENTAL

A red icon-plus-text label that reads "LOW SUSTAINABILITY" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.

Behavioral: Low Sustainability Labels

Unsustainable Labels

EXPERIMENTAL

A red icon-plus-text label that reads "UNSUSTAINABLE" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.

Behavioral: Unsustainable Labels

Environmental Harm Labels

EXPERIMENTAL

A red icon-plus-text label that reads "ENVIRONMENTAL HARM" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.

Behavioral: Environmental Harm Labels

High Environmental Harm Labels

EXPERIMENTAL

A red icon-plus-text label that reads "HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL HARM" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white globe icon directly preceding the label text.

Behavioral: High Environmental Harm Labels

High Environmental Cost Labels

EXPERIMENTAL

A red icon-plus-text label that reads "HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL COST" in white text will be placed beneath menu items with a high environmental impact, defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates from the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Labels will include a white triangle icon with a dollar sign directly preceding the label text.

Behavioral: High Environmental Cost Labels

Numeric Environmental Cost Labels

EXPERIMENTAL

Numeric Environmental Cost labels will be placed beneath all menu items and display the estimated dollar value associated with the item's True Cost Accounting which calculates the additional cost of a commodity by accounting for environmental and social costs. The label will read "ENVIRONMENTAL COST" in white text followed by a dollar value (i.e., +$6.01). All labels have a solid red background and an icon-plus-text design. A white globe icon will precede the text.

Behavioral: Numeric Environmental Cost Labels

Interventions

Environmental Harm LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Environmental Harm labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.

Environmental Harm Labels
High Environmental Harm LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. High Environmental Harm labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.

High Environmental Harm Labels
High Environmental Cost LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. High Environmental Cost labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.

High Environmental Cost Labels
Control (QR) LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Control (QR) labels will be displayed beneath each item. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.

Control (QR) labels
Low Sustainability LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Low Sustainability labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.

Low Sustainability Labels
Unsustainable LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Unsustainable labels will be displayed beneath select items. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.

Unsustainable Labels
Numeric Environmental Cost LabelsBEHAVIORAL

Participants will view a fast-food restaurant menu with main entrée items. Each menu item will be displayed with an image of the item, name, price, and total calories. Numeric environmental cost labels will be displayed beneath each item. Participants will view the menu and then the label in isolation and then be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase a menu item with the label.

Numeric Environmental Cost Labels

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • years of age or older
  • Member of the CloudResearch panel
  • Residing in the United States

You may not qualify if:

  • \- \<18 years of age
  • Not residing in the United States
  • Completed the survey implausibly quickly based on the distribution of the time to complete the survey among all participants
  • Failed the built-in Qualtrics survey fraud detection measures
  • Failed the attention check question included in the survey

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Product Labeling

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Product PackagingIndustryTechnology, Industry, and Agriculture

Study Officials

  • Julia A Wolfson, PhD, MPP

    Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Participants will be randomized to view a fast-food online ordering menu with one of seven labeling schemes applied: (1) a QR code on all items (control); (2) Low Sustainability labels; (3) Unsustainable labels; (4) Environmental Harm labels; (5) High Environmental Harm labels; (6) High Environmental Cost labels; and (7) numeric environmental cost labels on all items. All fast-food menus will include a selection of main entrée items. The control QR code and numeric environmental cost labels will display labels on all menu items. All other label conditions will apply labels only to items with higher environmental impact as defined by ingredient-level environmental impact estimates based on the Cool Food Pledge Calculator. Participants will be asked about a hypothetical intention to purchase an unspecified menu item with the label to which the participant was randomized.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 6, 2025

First Posted

October 9, 2025

Study Start

October 9, 2025

Primary Completion

November 2, 2025

Study Completion

November 2, 2025

Last Updated

January 7, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

The investigators will share anonymous individual level data with members of the research team and with other interested researchers upon request. After results have been published the investigators will make study data available on Open Science Framework consistent with the Data Sharing and Management Plan.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
Time Frame
After the study team has published results, the investigators will make data and other documents available. There is no end date for availability.
Access Criteria
Data and supporting documentation will be publicly available on the Open Science Framework website.

Locations

US(1)