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Market trend data show a growing popularity of discount food stores and of cheaper food products as opposed to more expensive leading brands (LB). Unexpectedly little is known about how these economic food choices affect diet quality and/or health. The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in nutrient content and cost of daily food intake data modeled to contain food exclusively from either LB, generic brands (GB) or discount brands (DB).

This study analyzed nutrition information of 430 food products that were selected based on dietary intake data from a sub-sample of the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. Data were collected in Dutch supermarkets, where information was copied from back-of-pack nutrition tables.

Results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the LB, GB or DB daily intake models in energy (kJ), protein, carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fatty acids, fiber or added sugar contents. However, there were significant differences in sodium content where LB had significant less sodium compared to GB and DB. Also, there were significant price differences: LB vs GB+2.75/day; LB vs DB+7.17/day; GB vs DB+4.42/day.

To the knowledge, this is the first study analyzing differences in nutrient content and price of leading, generic and discount food brand formats on a diet level. The analysis revealed that there is little reason to suggest that dietary nutrient quality is negatively affected by an increased consumption of DB products. Indeed, the substantial price difference between leading and DB suggests that discount products provide a reasonable alternative to LB.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of three food taxation schemes on energy (kcal), saturated fat (gram) and sugar (gram) purchased in the virtual supermarket.

Based on the literature, three food taxation schemes were developed (sugar tax, saturated fat tax and a nutrient profiling tax) and implemented in the three-dimensional virtual supermarket. A randomized control trial was conducted to determine the differences in the amount of energy (kcal), saturated fat (gram) and sugar (gram) purchased for a one-week food basket.

In total, 191 Dutch adults were randomly assigned to a sugar-tax condition (n=48), a saturated fat-tax condition (n=37), a nutrient profiling-tax condition (n=62) and a control (no-tax) condition (n=44). Fully adjusted models indicated that compared to the no-tax condition, no significant effects of a sugar-tax condition (B: −2,041 kcal (95% CI −5,350 to 1,914)), saturated fat-tax condition (B: −2,717 kcal (95% CI −6,596 to 1,163)) or nutrient profiling-tax condition (B: −1,124 kcal (95% CI −4,538 to 2,292)) were found on the amount of energy purchased. Also, none of the taxation schemes showed significant effects on saturated fat or sugar purchased.

This is one of the first randomized controlled trials testing the effectiveness of a variety of food taxes in the virtual supermarket. This preliminary study provides important directions for future research (the design, results, as well as the lessons learned with respect to recruitment, incentives and technology).