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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT06842680

Testing Ultraprocessed Food Labels in Chile

The goal of this experiment is to examine the effects of a warning label signaling that a product is ultraprocessed among a sample of Chilean parents. The main questions this experiment aims to answer are:

Do ultraprocessed warning labels on their own impact product purchase intentions?

Do ultraprocessed warning labels impact product purchase intentions in the presence of nutrient warning labels?

Do ultraprocessed warning labels help more consumers identify ultraprocessed foods?

Participants will be randomly assigned to a control arm or an ultraprocessed warning label arm. In both arms, products will carry nutrient warning labels, which are Chile's current policy. Participants will see three similar products, all of which will be ultraprocessed: one not high in any nutrients of concern, one high in sodium, and one high in sodium and saturated fat. For each product, participants will rate their purchase intentions and indicate whether they believe the product to be ultraprocessed. Researchers will compare results across arms.

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Key information

Conditions

Diet, Healthy

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States

About this study

Participants will complete an online randomized experiment programmed in Qualtrics. After providing informed consent, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two arms: control (i.e., no ultraprocessed warning label) arm or ultraprocessed warning label arm. In both arms, products will carry nutrient warning labels, which are Chile's current policy.

In random order, participants will see three similar mock bags of potato chips. All products seen will be ultraprocessed, and thus carry an ultraprocessed warning label in the ultraprocessed warning label arm. Additionally, one of the products will not be high in any nutrients of concern, one product will be high in sodium, and one product will be high in sodium and saturated fat. For each product, participants will rate their purchase intentions, perceived healthfulness, and indicate whether they believe the product to be ultraprocessed.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 years or older
  • Parent or guardian of child between 2-14 years old who has never been diagnosed with diabetes, high blood sugar, pre-diabetes or insulin resistance
  • Residing in Chile

Exclusion criteria

  • Less than 18 years old
  • Not parent or guardian of child between 2-14 years old who has never been diagnosed with diabetes, high blood sugar, pre-diabetes or insulin resistance
  • Not residing in Chile

Treatment and study plan

Control

Behavioral

Products do not carry ultraprocessed warning label. To match the current Chilean legislation, products carry octagonal nutrient labels when applicable.

Ultraprocessed warning label

Behavioral

Products carry ultraprocessed warning label. To match the current Chilean legislation, products carry octagonal nutrient labels when applicable.

Primary outcomes

  1. Purchase intentions, mean score

    Time frame: During exposure to intervention (i.e., study stimuli), assessed during one-time online 10-minute survey.

    How likely the participant would be to buy products will be measured by survey. Response options will be on a 5-point scale from "very unlikely" (coded as 1) to "very likely" (coded as 5), with higher scores representing a higher likelihood of buying products.

  2. Correct identification of products as ultraprocessed

    Time frame: During exposure to intervention (i.e., study stimuli), assessed during one-time online 10-minute survey.

    Correct identification of products as ultraprocessed will be measured by survey. Response will be coded in a dichotomous 0-1 range, where 1 indicates that the participant correctly identified the products as ultraprocessed and 0 indicates that the participant did not correctly identify the products as ultraprocessed.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Perceived product healthfulness, mean score

    Time frame: During exposure to intervention (i.e., study stimuli), assessed during one-time online 10-minute survey.

    How good or bad it would be to consume the product every day will be measured by survey. Response options will be on a 5-point scale from "very bad" (coded as 1) to "very good" (coded as 5), with higher scores representing a higher perceived product healthfulness.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Other

Collaborators

  • Bloomberg Philanthropies
  • Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Ultraprocessed Food Warning Label in Chile

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Feb 24, 2025
Registry last updated
Sep 9, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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