Nutrition marketing on food labels.
OBJECTIVE
This research sought to determine how often nutrition marketing is used on labels of foods that are high in saturated fat, sodium, and/or sugar.


METHODS
All items packaged with food labels (N = 56,900) in all 6 grocery stores in Grand Forks, ND were surveyed.


METHODS
Marketing strategy, nutrient label information, if the product was fruit/or milk based, and target age.


METHODS
Frequency distributions were computed.


RESULTS
Forty-nine percent of all products contained nutrition marketing and of those, 48% had both nutrition marketing and were high in saturated fat, sodium and/or sugar (11%, 17%, and 31% respectively). Seventy-one percent of products marketed to children had nutrition marketing. Of those, 59% were high in saturated fat, sodium and/or sugar content, with more than half being high in sugar. The most commonly used nutrition marketing statements were "good source of calcium", "reduced/low/fat free", and "food company's health symbol".


CONCLUSIONS
Nutrition marketing is commonly used on products high in saturated fat, sodium and/or sugar and is more often used on products marketed toward children than products marketed toward adults. Current food industry symbols may not be helping consumers select foods low in saturated fat, sodium or sugar.
Colby
Sarah E
SE
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND, USA. colbys@ecu.edu
Johnson
LuAnn
L
Scheett
Angela
A
Hoverson
Bonita
B
D000329:Advertising; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000145:classification; D005515:Food Labeling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040541:Marketing / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009753:Nutritive Value; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis
D004041:Dietary Fats; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D012982:Sodium, Dietary