Any effects that label information will have on consumer choices and eventually, dietary intake will be determined by the meaning that consumers attach to the label information. As consumers interpret label information by relating it to their own knowledge base and experiences (including any subjective theories on how food affect health and well-being), this work package will research understanding and health inferences from labels.
Consortium partners will research and evaluate how consumers infer healthiness from labels in combination with other information.
Focus groups will be conducted in selected countries to determine the required and desired information to evaluate the healthiness of food products. Consumers will also be segmented on their attitudes towards health, having a particular health risk as well as socio-demographic characteristics.
Different research techniques will be used to determine how consumers infer and classify healthiness when confronted with products with different types of labels and other informational elements. Exposure time to information will be studied in relation to health inferences as will the impact of prior beliefs. Health perceptions of products will be related not only to label information, but also to media usage, advertising exposure and participation in educational activities.