Study Shows Color Nutrition Labels Easier to Read

It’s somewhat ironic that the latest study to be released on nutritional labels comes on the label’s 20th birthday. The recent study shows that color and text, as opposed to just numbers, make nutrition labels easier to read.

The literature review, published in the January issue of Nutrition Reviews, analyzed 38 studies on consumer responses to nutrition labels on the front of food packages to determine which aspects of the labels had the strongest impact on consumer attention, understanding and purchasing.

This is useful information for food and beverage companies that are always searching for ways to better market their products.

Although more research is needed to determine what impacts consumer behavior and purchasing, the studies did suggest that the labels on the front of food containers can help consumers make better food choices. Researchers found that the consumers were able to more easily interpret the product labels that used text or color to indicate whether the product had a high, medium or low level of nutrients, as opposed to only numbers, such as percentage of Recommended Dietary Allowance or the number of trams per serving the product contained.

This information could become extremely important in the future, as it could be used to help consumers make better, healthier decisions at the supermarket.