Nutrition food labeling helping consumers improve eating habits

Grocery shoppers today are more health-conscious than ever, and but many make their buying decisions on long-held habits, which might not always lead to the healthiest choices. However, a new report suggests that the right food labels can make a difference for consumers who want to make a commitment to healthy eating.

Officials at the American Heart Association say they have noticed a significant increase in sales for healthier food items that have labels to inform customers of each product’s nutritional value. The labels themselves don’t always have to be incredibly detailed – AHA officials said they have seen a 1.5 to 6.7 percent increase in sales of products with the “Heart Check” label, a simple mark that tells shoppers which foods are healthy for their hearts. The findings were revealed at this year’s Annual Meeting & Food Expo, sponsored by the Institute of Food Technologists.

“Struggling dieters” were most likely to react well to nutrition-focused food labeling, according to Dennis Milne of the AHA. Milne suggested that while simple, food labeling can be an effective way for these consumers to easily determine which foods are healthy, a concept supported by Mary Christ-Erwin of Porter Novelli, a nutrition practice.

“It is hard to get something new in that grocery cart,” she said. “People don’t change their eating habits that much. We go where the comfort is, what we like to eat, what works for our families. We don’t want to spend the energy figuring out new patterns.”

Christ-Erwin cited a 2010 study that determined front-of-package nutrition labels made a significant impact on consumers’ buying habits. Food manufacturers or distributors that wish to increase the visibility and profitability of their nutritional offerings may benefit from an investment in a Primera lx900 color label printer, which can aid in the speedy and effective production of vibrant front-of-package food labels.