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Introduction: The Healthier Choice Logo (HCL) was introduced in 2017 by the Ministry of Health Malaysia. This paper analysed acceptance of HCL, effectiveness of HCL in encouraging healthier product reformulation, and factors affecting reformulation among food industries. Methods: An online self-administered questionnaire consisting of four sections utilising multiple choice and 5-point Likert scale questions was distributed to food industries in Malaysia. Sample size calculation yielded 100 respondents. Results: Food industries had a higher acceptance of the processes and requirements involved in HCL implementation. HCL was highly effective in encouraging product reformulation among food industries in Malaysia. Meeting consumer demand, improving brand image, public health, more awareness around nutrition labelling, logo and national nutrition target, more technical knowledge and budget were found to motivate healthier product reformulation. However, product suitability, consumer acceptability, difficulties maintaining taste and shelf life, and limited budget were the challenges faced in product reformulation. There was no correlation between HCL acceptance and factors encouraging or inhibiting reformulation. Conclusion: These findings are expected to help relevant authorities or stakeholders make changes, if necessary, towards processes and requirements involved in HCL application to ensure wider HCL implementation. Future research should identify the relationship between HCL implementation and public health improvement among the Malaysian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of reading food labels and to compare the knowledge, att itude and practice of reading the food label between the adolescent boys and girls, residents of Sultanpur (UP), India. In this survey, 100 volunteers aged 13-19 years were asked to complete a questionnaire contained twenty questions. there was equal male and female respondents. almost everyone has come across adulterated food items among population, 48% male and 45% female came across with malpractices in food items while 2% of male and 5% of female were not face any such type of adulteration or duplicity, 70% female and 36% male respondents informed very much with labelling, 54% male and 20% female were moderately informed while 8% male and 6% female were informed minimally and only 2% male and 4% female were not satisfi ed with the information on printed on packets. all of the respondents (both male and female) had habit of reading food labels before purchasing any packed food items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A premise of food patriotism can be found in the promotion of labels highlighting a specific geographical area, as a way to generate economic growth through the production of these speciality foods. This article presents food quality labeling as an important driver of patriotism. It is argued that in a decreed post-national era, national identity continue to matter and to become more and more visible within food sector, be it land grabbing, security and safety of foods, or origin of the products. The analysis is placed within food-health strategic and legislative frameworks designed to support Europe 2020 strategy. The results indicate a good level of reading frequency on food label/packaging of country of origin, producer's name and special logos/labels (i.e., Protected Designation of Origin, Organic Food, Fair Trade etc.). Thus, around 45% of tested people searched for the country of origin, 67.6% for producer's name and 47.5% for special labels in at least half of the cases when they bought food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Developed Countries, the problem of malnutrition is mainly connected to excessive food-intake whose direct consequences can be overweight and obesity. In the last decades, these problems increased significantly and they are expected to rise in the next future. Consumers education towards healthier food models is the main tool to prevent overweight and obesity. The European Union has approached the issue through regulatory actions that, from 2006, have completed the existing general framework of labelling requirements, by providing for specific provisions aimed at protecting the consumer's right to correct information on nutritional and health properties of food. In this framework, the aim of this paper is to verify if after ten years of the introduction of the European Regulation 1924/2006, the declared objectives have been reached. In particular, an analysis in depth, regarding the evolution of lifestyle, health conditions and food production in Italy in the period 2005-2014 has been carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent obesity is more prevalent in the United Kingdom (UK) than in almost any other higher income nation. Providing nutritional information in the form of a food label is one strategy that has the potential to reduce obesity because it offers informed choices. School food can theoretically provide a third of an adolescent's daily calorie intake, yet food served in schools in England has no labelling to guide pupils to the healthiest food choices on offer. This is a pragmatic study, which designed and applied an experimental food label in the form of a nutritional 'food score' to the food on offer to pupils aged 11–18 years in a school in Greater London. Quantitative survey data was collected at three time points for a total of nine weeks to explore if the food label influenced adolescents to select healthier food options in real time data. In addition, data from a food choice questionnaire identified which factors adolescents ranked as having the greatest influence on their food choice behaviour. The results indicated that with the application of the experimental food label there was no significant change in actual food selected. The factors that adolescents ranked the highest in terms of influencing their food choices were taste, hunger, price, health, appearance, smell, and food that keeps them awake. The factor that adolescents unanimously ranked as not affecting their food choices was the influence of friends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Diet is a leading modifiable cause of poor health globally. • A new food product labeling system, named Mediterranean Index (Med Index), has been developed. • The Med Index promotes adherence to the Mediterranean diet (healthy and sustainable nutritional pattern) by stimulating citizens to practice physical activity. • The Med Index, based on 27 criteria that cover the three pillars of sustainability, nutritional, environmental and social ones. By 2024, the European Commission will examine a new sustainable labeling framework. Here we describe the development of a new food product labeling system, named Mediterranean Index (Med Index), aimed at promoting adherence to the Mediterranean diet (healthy and sustainable nutritional pattern) by stimulating citizens to practice physical activity consistent with the energy intake of meals and encouraging producers to make healthier and more sustainable food products. It is characterized by the possibility of integrating 27 criteria addressing the issue of sustainable food production processes in the frame of three pillars: nutritional, environmental, and social sustainability. It is conceived as a holistic front-of-pack (FOP) label, complete and applicable by food producers as it is based on measurable criteria, widely shared by stakeholders, but usually adopted on an individual basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) studies product labels from the United States (U.S.) food supply through the Food Label and Package Survey (FLAPS) to monitor industry responses to FDA regulations and policies on foods. The 2006-2007 FLAPS data were analyzed to obtain prevalence, food sources, and claim types of structure function (SF) claims. The SF claims describe the role of a nutrient or food component intended to maintain the normal structure or function of body (e.g., calcium builds strong bones). FDA selected regulated food products from the ACNielsen Strategic Planner sales database of the U.S. retail stores using a stratified, two-stage design with selection probabilities proportional to nationally estimated sales dollars. Products were purchased from retail stores across the U.S. and the detailed product label information was recorded. FDA calculated product sampling weights based on sales data so that the FLAPS estimate will be generalizable to the foods sold in all U.S. retail stores The FLAPS database contains label information for 1,227 foods in 57 product groups. The weighted prevalence of the FLAPS foods with at least one SF claim was 5.5%, of which approximately 1/3 had two or more SF claims. There were about 30 different types of SF claims and commonly found SF claims include claims about healthy bones and teeth, baby's brain and eye development, healthy weight, immune system, and healthy cholesterol level. The SF claims were found commonly in the following product groups: infant formulas, cheeses, yogurts, cold cereals, refrigerated and shelf-stable juices and drinks. These results demonstrate the usefulness of the FLAPS data as an FDA's monitoring tool to assess compliance with food label-related laws and regulations and to plan for future policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate consumers' knowledge of food labels and how this knowledge guides their decisions when making purchasing choices with regard to food. Design: This was a descriptive research design study. Setting: The setting was the suburb of Koforidua Municipality in the Eastern region of Ghana. Subjects: One hundred and forty-three customers were observed in store from four randomly sampled supermarkets. One hundred of these customers completed a self-administered questionnaire. Outcome measures: Measurements included observation and a self-administered questionnaire that elicited information on label-reading habits, attitudes towards health awareness and the influence of food labels on food choices. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: Sixty-five of the 100 consumers (54 females and 46 males) who consented to respond to the questionnaire looked at or read food labels before selecting a food to purchase. Seventy-five per cent reported reading the food labels prior to selecting food. This study found that nutrition knowledge had a low to average impact on consumers' food choices. Half of the consumers who reported reading the food labels did not do so regularly. This could have implications on how often such information is used when purchasing food. Also, only 22% of the study respondents answered correctly when asked to explain "26% RDA (recommended dietary allowance) vitamin A per serving" on a food label, even though 45% of the respondents had a tertiary education. Conclusion: These findings indicate awareness and knowledge of food labelling which may not always adequately impact on food choices, even though study respondents indicated high awareness and low to average reading of labels prior to purchasing food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]