published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Objectives: To figure out how consumers responded to nutrition labeling through the frequency of using nutrition labeling, understandability of nutrition labeling, factors associated with the usage of nutrition labeling and the impact of different nutrition labeling formats. Methods: Relevant studies published between 1994 and 2012 were searched identified through Pubmed Database and China Journals Full-text Database which have investigated the responses of consumers to nutrition labeling. Results: Seventeen studies were selected finally to be included in this review. Eight papers described that over half of the participants would check nutrition labeling in supermarket. However, five of the papers provide evidence that consumers felt confused to read the nutrition labeling. Over half of the consumers responded to check nutrition labeling when shopping in supermarkets but the nutrition labeling was hard to understand totally specially the item about calories. Front-of pack (FOP) nutrition labeling is a popular formats of label among consumers. Four papers have made comparison between different formats of FOP and two of them provide evidence that multiple traffic-light label earn most reputation among consumers. Characteristics of consumers might influence nutrition labeling use and age, education level, BMI were positively associated with it. Conclusion: Further researches should be conducted to provide more evidence to improve or set up a relatively perfect nutrition labeling legislation which should play a greater role in public health. China is the next country where would implement the nutrition labeling legislation and FOP of nutrition labeling is a good option to be introduced to food manufactures and consumers. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Background Obesity was known to be caused by imbalance in energy in food consumption and energy output in daily activities. It has become a public health epidemic all over the world. Obesity associated diseases has brought large burden on the healthcare systems. Morbidity and mortality related to obesity are increasing. Overconsumption of calorie from away-home-food has a large contribution to the epidemic. Dining out frequently is associated with overconsumption of calorie in food selected and intake, in which its popularity is on the rise. Calorie labeling on restaurant menus has got mixed evidence on reducing calorie in food selection and consumption. This paper aims to review and synthesize relevant evidence among randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of energy labeling in restaurant menu and total energy in food purchase and consumption so that possible causal relationship could be inferred and implications on future researches and policies could be provided. Methods A literature search was conducted using PubMed and Cochrane Library to locate relevant articles in English that examined the effectiveness of calorie labeling on energy reduction in food selection and consumption from 1966 to 30 June 2014. Results Twelve RCTs were included, with most of them (nine studies) conducted in the US. Overall, all the studies evaluated the effectiveness of calorie labeling on energy in food selection, 4 RCTs involved evaluated the effectiveness of calorie labeling on energy in food consumption. Studies were categorized into groups of real, laboratory and simulated settings for comparisons. In total, eight out of twelve RCTs revealed a significant calorie reduction in food selection with energy labeling, with proportional calorie reduction ranging from 8.3% to 36.7%. While in evaluating the effectiveness of calorie labeling on food consumption, three out of the four RCTs showed a significant calorie reduction in the intervention group, with proportional energy reduction ranging from 6.2% to 11.4%. One RCT showed a significant increase in calorie consumption after the study meal. Six of the 12 studies had recruited normal weight participants, and they found mixed results in calorie reduction of food selection with energy labeling, while 4 RCTs recruited averagely overweight participants and found significant calorie reduction in food selection. This difference in effectiveness of calorie labeling among various weight status of participants suggested that this policy would be more effective in secondary prevention of obesity rather than primary prevention. There was more evidence showing that calorie labeling is effective on reducing calorie in food selection in consumption in this systematic review among studies reviewing calorie reduction in food selection and consumption at a short period of time. Conclusions Mandating calorie labeling on restaurant menus could possibly reduce the energy in food selection and consumption. A minimal reduction in calorie in food selection and consumption might possibly bring a large population benefit. However, more scientifically rigorous researches were called for a longer exposure period of time to evaluate its sustainability in altering people's eating behaviour. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters Diploma in Technology: Food and Nutrition, Technikon Natal, 1994. / Much attention has been given to the prevalence of diseases related to over-consumption of food, with nutritional labelling playing an increasingly prominent role in the prevention and reduction of these diseases. The development of technology and the subsequent availability of processed food have greatly contributed to these diseases, and created gaps in both distance and concept between the consumer and the manufacturer. An increasing number of food manufacturers are providing nutritional information regarding their products in order to maintain their position in the market; however, this avalanche of information is outstripping the ability of the consumer to use it effectively or to even comprehend it. This study was undertaken to identify the objectives needed for the formulation of an educational programme concerning the nutritional labelling of food containers. / M

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

What is in our food? What can food labels tell us about what is in our food? This dissertation applies rhetoric in the everyday human act of reading food labels and making decisions about what to eat based on those labels. Rhetoric is continually operating from the beginning of the food manufacturing process, to designing and writing food labels and packaging, and finally to the consumer reading the label in the store. “Natural flavors” is an ingredient listing that appears more frequently on food labels, especially in the organic and natural foods industries. I collected food labels and used qualitative methods as I rendered labels textually into Word documents in order to see the discursive elements of food labels away from the sometimes elaborate graphic design. I found that food labels contained three elements: the story, the reality, and the credibility. The story of the food label lures the consumer into an emotional response in either purchasing the food item or putting it back on the shelf. The reality of the label is in the ingredients list, or what is actually in that food item. The credibility is the availability of the manufacture in connecting with the consumer and to what extent they have transparency. By comparing these three elements on a textual page, we can see if there is truth and label equivalence between them, with “natural flavors” as a central component when it appears in the ingredients list. To the extent that there is or is not equivalence is explored through qualitative rhetorical analysis and briefly discussed by engaging Brummett’s rhetorical homologies.

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

During the past decade, there has been growing public attention and concern over consuming products containing or processed with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Labeling of the food products derived from the use of GMOs has thereby been a contentious debate across the world. Currently, there are two systems with regard to labeling GMO-based products: mandatory versus voluntary. The purpose of this study was to survey the research on GMOs, its application in agriculture and the surrounding labeling issues. A theoretical model was developed to analyze non-GMO producers' labeling decisions under a voluntary labeling regime, aimed at providing a theoretical perspective for governments that are contemplating the adoption of a voluntary approach to regulate GMO food products. The analysis indicates that the size of labeling costs and consumers' preferences toward non-GMO products are critical factors that will impact on non-GMO producers' labeling decisions.