Food health claims – What consumers understand

• Published in: Food policy 2012-10, Vol.37 (5), p.571-580
• Main Authors: Nocella, Giuseppe, Kennedy, Orla
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; attitudes and opinions; Average consumer; Communication; Consistency; Consumer behavior; Consumers; dietary supplements; Economic regulation; Europe; European Union; Food; Food products; Foods; Health; Health claims; laws and regulations; Legislation; Multidisciplinary research; Nutrition; Policies; Regulation; Strength; Strength of scientific evidence
• ISSN: 0306-9192; 1873-5657
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.06.001

► This review brings together international findings on consumer understanding of health claims. ► We examine factors affecting how consumers process information conveyed by food health claims. ► The concept of the average consumer is discussed taking into account EU Regulation 1924/2006. ► The communication of scientific evidence is critically analysed with regard to the EU and the US laws. ► We provide insights both for future research and to enhance the strength of scientific evidence. Issues pertaining to consumer understanding of food health claims are complex and difficult to disentangle because there is a surprising lack of multidisciplinary research aimed at evaluating how consumers are influenced by factors impacting on the evaluation process. In the EU, current legislation is designed to protect consumers from misleading and false claims but there is much debate about the concept of the ‘average consumer’ referred to in the legislation. This review provides an overview of the current legislative framework, discusses the concept of the ‘average consumer’ and brings together findings on consumer understanding from an international perspective. It examines factors related to the personal characteristics of individuals such as socio-demographic status, knowledge, and attitudes, and factors pertaining to food and food supplement products such as the wording of claims and the communication of the strength and consistency of the scientific evidence. As well as providing insights for future research, the conclusions highlight the importance of enhancing the communication of scientific evidence to improve consumer understanding of food health claims.