Hooker Neal H, Teratanavat Ratapol
Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, USA.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2008 Feb;48(2):160-76. doi: 10.1080/10408390601177704.
This paper reviews recent consumer studies evaluating comprehension of a novel form of food labeling, qualified health claims, now permitted by FDA. The joint goals of qualified health claims are to encourage firms to make accurate, science-based claims about the health benefits of their products while helping consumers prevent disease and improve their health through sound dietary decisions using enhanced nutrition information. This paper examines whether consumers can differentiate between multiple levels of health claims and determines if a front label visual aid helps consumer understanding. Results of experimental consumer attitude studies are presented which suggest that people do not perceive significant differences between the three levels of qualified claims and traditional (unqualified or SSA) health claims. An additional experiment suggests that a visual aid (report card) may be an important device to help consumers distinguish between the levels of health claims. However, thought-listing data suggests that consumers use the report card to draw inferences about overall product quality rather than the strength of scientific evidence supporting the health claim. Implications of these findings for the future regulatory oversight and marketing of functional food products are discussed.
本文回顾了近期关于消费者对一种新型食品标签理解情况的研究，这种新型标签即合格健康声明，目前已获美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）批准。合格健康声明的共同目标是鼓励企业对其产品的健康益处做出准确的、基于科学的声明，同时帮助消费者通过利用强化营养信息做出合理的饮食决策来预防疾病并改善健康状况。本文研究了消费者是否能够区分不同级别的健康声明，并确定标签正面的视觉辅助工具是否有助于消费者理解。文中呈现了消费者态度实验研究的结果，这些结果表明，人们并未察觉到合格声明的三个级别与传统（不合格或“重大科学共识”）健康声明之间存在显著差异。另一项实验表明，一种视觉辅助工具（成绩单）可能是帮助消费者区分健康声明级别的重要手段。然而，思维列表数据表明，消费者利用成绩单来推断产品的整体质量，而非支持健康声明的科学证据的力度。本文还讨论了这些研究结果对未来功能性食品监管和营销的启示。
