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This study aims to increase knowledge of the ability of nutrition labels to guide consumer choices in real-life environments.

Food consumption and plate waste data were collected from two self-service restaurants (SSR) with different customer groups over six observation days: three control and three intervention (with nutrition labelling) periods. Study Group 1 consisted of vocational school students, mostly late adolescents (N = 1,710), and Group 2 consisted of spa hotel customers, mostly elderly (N = 1,807). In the experimental restaurants, the same food was served to the buffets during the control and intervention periods.

The nutrition label in the lunch buffet guides customers to eat fewer main foods and salads and to select healthier choices. Increased consumption of taste enhancers (salt and ketchup) was observed in the study restaurants after nutritional labelling. Nutrition labelling was associated with a reduction in plate waste among the elderly, whereas the opposite was observed among adolescents.

The results provide public policymakers and marketers with a better understanding of the effects of nutrition labelling on consumer behaviour. Future studies should further evaluate the effects of nutrition labelling on the overall quality of customer diets and the complex environmental, social, and psychological factors affecting food choices and plate waste accumulation in various study groups.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of urbanicity on rural–urban migrants' dietary diversity and nutrition intake and whether its effect differs across various urban environments of migrants.

Using the individual- and time-invariant fixed effects (two-way FE) model and five-year panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), this paper estimates a linear and nonlinear relationship between urbanicity and nutrition. The paper also explores the spatial heterogeneity between rural–urban migrants and rural–suburban migrants. Dietary diversity, total energy intake and the shares of energy obtained from protein and fat, respectively, are used to measure rural–urban migrants' nutrition on both quality and quantity aspects.

The study shows that rural–urban migrants have experienced access to more diverse, convenient and prepared foods, and the food variety consumed is positively associated with community urbanicity. Energy intake is positively and significantly affected by community urbanicity, and it also varies with per capita household income. The obvious inverse U-shaped relationship reveals that improving community urbanicity promotes an increase in the shares of energy obtained from protein and fat at a decreasing rate, until reaching the urbanicity index threshold of 66.69 and 54.26, respectively.

This paper focuses on the nutritional status of rural–urban migrants, an important pillar for China's development, which is often neglected in the research. It examines the urbanicity and the nutrition of migrants in China, which provides a new perspective to understand the dietary and nutritional intake among migrants in the economic and social development. Moreover, the urbanicity index performs better at measuring urban feathers rather than the traditional rural/urban dichotomous classification.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the usefulness of nutrition labels in Thailand during nutrition transition from traditional to modern diets that increase salt, sugar, and calorie intake and to note socio-demographic interactions and associations with consumption of transitional processed foods.

The authors studied 42,750 distance learning Open University adults aged 23-96 years in 2013 residing nationwide and participating in an ongoing community-based prospective cohort study. The authors used multivariable logistic regression to relate nutrition label experiences (“read”, “good understand”, “frequent use”), socio-demographic factors, and consumption of four transitional foods. These foods included “unhealthy” instant foods, carbonated soft drinks, and sweet drinks, or “healthy” milk.

Overall, two-thirds reported good understanding and frequent use of nutrition labels. Unhealthy transition-indicator processed foods were frequently consumed: instant foods (7 per cent), (carbonated) soft drinks (15 per cent), and sweet drinks (41 per cent). Frequent users of nutrition labels (e.g. females, older persons, professionals) were less likely to consume unhealthy indicator foods. Those with the most positive overall nutrition label experience (“read” + “good understanding” + “frequent use”) had the best indicator food profiles: instant foods (odds ratio (OR) 0.63; 95%CI, 0.56-0.70); soft drinks (OR 0.56; 95%CI, 0.52-0.61); sweet drinks (OR 0.79; 95%CI, 0.74-0.85); milk (OR 1.87; 95%CI, 1.74-2.00).

Knowledge protected – those with most nutrition label experience were least likely to consume unhealthy foods. Results support government regulated nutrition labels, expanding to include sweet drinks. The study is remarkable for its large size and nationwide footprint. Study subjects were educated, represent Thais of the future, and show high awareness of transition-indicator foods.

Following the standard practice of using nutrition claims to denote food functionality, this study empirically explores Chinese consumers’ willingness-to-pay for functional processed meat products by using three nutrition claims (namely “increased calcium,” “containing omega-3”, and “reduced salt”) made on pork sausages. It also aims to outline the typical characteristics of Chinese consumer segments based on preferences.

A choice-based choice experiment is utilized to investigate Chinese consumers’ valuation on attributes of interest regarding functional sausage products. First-hand data was collected in the two cities of Xi'an and Beijing.

There are market potentials for domestic and/or imported functional processed meat products among Chinese consumers. Nutrition claims made on pork sausages are appealing to Chinese consumers, and therefore, monetarily rewarded by them. Being imported from a more developed country of origin could both positively and negatively impact consumers’ WTP for nutrition claims made on pork sausages. Furthermore, specific functional modification strategies should be taken into account when addressing different segments of the Chinese market. In addition, regional impacts between Xi'an and Beijing are implied in terms of consumers’ valuation for functional pork sausages.

Limitations in the current study are mainly two folds. First, the WTP estimation magnitudes are subject to a hypothetical bias by using a stated preference approach. Second, this study only focuses on pork sausages to explore consumers’ perceptions and selects three nutrition claims among many other relevant options.

Implications are provided for meat marketers and for Chinese official food policymakers, such that promoting meat products with a nutrition claim is an attractive marketing strategy for foreign food manufacturers in China, and more reformulated meat products with better nutritional compositions should be allowed in the Chinese market.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first to fill in the literature blank on investigating the consumers’ valuation for functional meat in the emerging market of China. Because when taking Chinese consumers as a target market and evaluating their perceptions of food quality-related labeling and certifications, the existing literature is mainly limited to topics of product safety, organic/green products, and geographical origins. However, nutrition claims, as marketable credence attributes that associate closely to the main characteristics of the functional food products, have been explored to a much lesser extent among Chinese consumers.

Milk and yoghurt provide essential sources of nutrition throughout the life cycle in the Irish diet. Health claims on dairy product labels were popular in the 1980s, and since the introduction of the nutrition and health claims (NHC) Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 in 2007, many new regulated claims have been used to communicate product benefits. Meanwhile, COVID-19 and the Farm to Fork strategy have heightened consumer awareness of health issues. All of these factors have contributed to a change in our food environment and interest in health. In addition, the European Commission is working to introduce a legislative proposal on nutrient profiles (NP) to restrict the use of NHC on foods that are high in salt, fat or sugar. This qualitative study aims to research knowledge on adults’ attitudes, perceptions and behaviour towards NHC on dairy products.

The study used a thematic analysis using transcripts from a series of discussion groups, attended by adults (n = 24). The participants also completed an introductory questionnaire.

The study noted positive attitudes towards dairy protein. This attitude was common across age, gender or life stage. There were misperceptions regarding yoghurt composition and health benefits. There were negative perceptions of low-fat nutrition claims on yoghurt, which led to a preference for full-fat dairy products. This requires further insight and research.

Participants from a wider socio-demographic group could have broadened the research limits of this project.

These findings will interest policymakers, regulators, dieticians and the food industry.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the associations between food literacy, consumer profiling and purchasing behaviour in a sample of Italian consumers.

Participants (N = 194) completed an online survey including personal data, two questionnaires on purchase behaviour and food consumption, the General Trust Scale (GTS), a questionnaire assessing individual chronotype and two scales about food literacy: one investigating nutritional knowledge (short food literacy questionnaire, SFLQ) and the other focussing on procedural skills (self-perceived food literacy scale, SPFL). Associations between food literacy, consumer profiling and purchase behaviour were analysed with linear regression models.

Participants with specific education in nutrition reported higher scores in food literacy. The final score of food literacy was predicted by a greater attention to nutritional content and nutritional properties of products. Women paid more attention to nutritional properties than men, and they obtained higher scores in SFLQ. Evening types obtained lower scores in SFPL compared to intermediate and morning chronotypes. Body mass index (BMI) was negatively correlated to SPFL score, while it was associated with the easy availability of a product, so that obese (BMI ≥ 30) subjects considered the easy availability of a product more important compared to non-obese ones (BMI < 30).

This study investigates the influence of personal and psychometric variables of consumer profiling on food literacy and consequently on purchase behaviour, paving the way for implementing healthier food consumption policies. These findings reinforce the primacy of specific education in building healthy eating habits.

Due to the increasing population and diverse lifestyles of aging people in Thailand, close examination of their needs and health care problems is required. Availability and accessibility of food affects the health and well-being of aging people in the community; therefore, to enhance their quality of life, community nurses and health care personnel must understand the variety of foods in their diet, in order to provide suitable and culturally acceptable nutrition for the elderly. The purpose of this paper is to explore the diversity of foods eaten by older people and the social, economic, environmental, and cultural contexts in which they live in the Northern region of Thailand. This is a part of a larger research project of community food management systems for the care of older people.

Critical ethnographic research was employed during the study. The data were collected from 41 primary elderly informants and family members. The researcher collected data by conducting individual in-depth interviews, observation of activities, and focus group discussions. The text data were analyzed by content analysis.

Information gathered from this research reveal nine categories of food which older people are associated with and which include: favorite foods; food provided by others; foodstuffs which should be eaten due to chronic diseases (recommended by doctor); foods to be avoided; snacks; food eaten with others (eating when socializing); food for festivals and cultural traditions; food offered for making merit; and food donated to others.

Utilization of health data, specifically regarding individual dietary diversity, can guide community nurses and health care personnel to provide and promote health that will suit individuals and their families. Community nurses and health care personnel should be aware of the variety of older persons’ diets and the importance of being able to manage and sustain their own nutritional needs. Appropriate nutrition, which is one of the social determinants of health, could improve the quality of the well-being of aging members in the community.

The purpose of this scoping review was to summarise the general results of the Chilean Food Law implementation to help to understand how this policy has changed consumer's behaviour.

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines were followed. Five databases were searched for studies published from January 2015 to February 2020 evaluating the Chilean population's perception, behaviour and purchasing habits of processed foods.

The results showed that consumers support the implementation of a front-of-package warning label (FOPWL) and thought it a good strategy to help make healthier food choices for themselves. However, even with a positive perception about these products, the intention-to-change the purchase of unhealthy food occurred only for sugar-sweetened beverages. Meanwhile, children did not stop eating foods that had a FOPWL, although the mothers' perception was that the presence of FOPWLs could be important to differentiate unhealthy from healthy products. The availability of products with FOPWLs at schools decreased, indicating that the law was being complied with and that the child-directed marketing strategy showed a reduction after the first phase of implementation.

This evidence will guide other countries about in understanding and improving this policy.

This is the first study to gather research available in international databases that evaluated the results of the Chilean Law on the advertising of children's food and the perception, purchase intention, reformulation of products and consumption behaviour of the Chilean population.

This review explores the phenomenon of front-of-pack nutrition labels (FoPNLs) in the European Union (EU). FoPNLs highlight the nutritional quality of food and non-alcoholic beverages and help consumers to make healthier choices. The review explores different types of FoPNLs and evaluates their effectiveness.

A policy analysis was conducted, relying on extant academic literature, grey literature and policy documents. The use of current FoPNLs is interpreted in light of national and economic interests.

Our review identifies and describes seven government endorsed FoPNLs that are currently used in the EU. Five are positive endorsement labels (Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, Slovenia and Sweden), which only provide a positive indication on more healthy products. The Keyhole is used in three EU countries (Denmark, Lithuania and Sweden), while the others are used in one country each. The Nutri-Score represents a summary label, which provides an overall grade of how healthy a product is. It is used in six countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Luxembourg). Finally, the Nutrinform battery is a nutrient-specific non-interpretive scheme, indicating the content of nutrients in a portion of a food product. All identified labels are only used on a voluntary basis, encouraging selective use.

This review contributes to a significant discussion about food labeling in the EU. It summarizes existing approaches and evaluates them in terms of their effectiveness. The current schemes in use reflect regional clustering. The most common scheme is the Nutri-Score. This is predominantly found in western EU states. Another major label is the Keyhole, with summary endorsement schemes being prevalent in northern EU states. The least common is Nutrinform, which has some support in southern EU states. The Nutri-score is most effective although economic interests are pushing for the Nutrinform battery in a small number of states. Finally, the review suggests that all existing FoPNLs are voluntary, these labels fail to provide consumers with adequate information about nutrition quality of food products. The EU needs to mobilize support to agree on a single one.

The importance of food education in primary schools has been globally recognised. However, more detailed definitions of its learning objectives are rarely found. The study aimed to define multisectoral themes and learning objectives for food education in primary education in Finland.

A descriptive three-round Delphi study was conducted with experts in food education in various organisations. In the first questionnaire, the participants were asked to define possible objectives for food education related to general objectives for basic education. Respondents of the first questionnaire formed a research panel (n = 22). These panellists were then invited to complete the second (n = 16) and third questionnaires (n = 12), where the objectives were further modified. Qualitative content analysis and Bloom's taxonomy were applied in the process of creating the learning objectives.

In the iterative process, 42 learning objectives for food education in primary schools were defined. Further, “Sustainability and ethics of food systems” was defined as the cross-cutting theme of food education. In addition, 13 subthemes were defined, which fell into three thematic categories: personal (e.g. feelings), practical (e.g. eating) and intangible (e.g. culture) issues.

The defined learning objectives for a holistic food education may be used in advancing primary school curriculum in Finland and perhaps other countries.