More Consumers Reading Nutrition Panel
3/8/2010 12:00 AM

A survey by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows that Americans are reading the Nutrition Facts panel on products more often and are more skeptical of the claims by food companies. The results are from a 2008 poll and showed 54 percent of Americans read a food label before first purchasing a product. This is up from 44 percent in 2002. 49 percent reported that their decision to buy a product had changed after reading the label. 56 percent or those surveyed said that only some or none of the health claims (such as high in fiber or low in fat) were accurate.

The FDA has performed ten surveys since 1982. The agency is currently researching ways to make the Nutrition Facts panel more usable for consumers. It will also be assessing the effectiveness of front-of-pack labeling with a view to establishing science-based criteria for claims.
 

Click to full story

Source: "Increasing Skepticism, But Food Labels Still Influence Decisions", Caroline Scott-Thomas, Food Navigator USA, March 3, 2010

This article is written and published by persons not affiliated with Land O'Lakes, Inc..The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Land O'Lakes, Inc..Information in this article may not be current and may be superceded by more recent information published by Land O'Lakes, Inc. or by other persons.To read this article, you will be leaving the Land O'Lakes, Inc. web site.