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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT03290118

The Efficacy of Front-of-package Labelling Schemes: an Experimental Study

This is an online study that aims to test the effectiveness of Interpretative Nutrition Rating Systems (INRS) such as the Health Star Rating System (HSR or Star System), traffic light system and warning labels (high sodium, saturated fat and sugar) proposed by Health Canada. The study will incorporate the use of a Smartphone application (app), FoodFlip®, to help educate consumers on each INRS prior to their exposure on food packages.

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Key information

Conditions

Diet Modification Cardiovascular Diseases Nutrition

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E2, Canada

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • speak English as a primary language
  • reside in Canada excluding the Northern Territories
  • are 18 years or over
  • provide informed consent
  • do at least some of the household grocery shopping
  • own a smartphone (version iPhone 3 or later or Android)
  • are able to complete the survey on a minimum screen size of 9.7 inches.

Treatment and study plan

Nutrition Rating System - Traffic Light

Other

Behavioural: Nutrition Rating Systems (shown on the online survey and the mobile app) provide consumers with an interpretation of the healthfulness of a food or beverage, by indicating the levels (low=green, moderate=amber, high=red) of sodium, saturated fat and sugar in a product based on modified Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) criteria.

Nutrition Rating System - Health Star

Other

Behavioural: Nutrition Rating Systems (shown on the online survey and the mobile app) provide consumers with an interpretation of the healthfulness of a food or beverage product by indicating the number of stars awarded to a product, from 0.5 to 5 stars, based on modified Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) nutrient profiling criteria.

Nutrition Rating System - Warning Label

Other

Behavioural: Nutrition Rating Systems (shown on the online survey and the mobile app) provide consumers with an interpretation of the healthfulness of a food or beverage product by indicating with a warning label products that are "high" in sodium, saturated fat and sugar, based on a percent daily value (%DV) greater than 15% for individual products and 30% for combination dishes.

Smartphone application FoodFlip Device®

Device

This is embedded within each condition to inform and educate consumers about the labelling condition/intervention to which they are randomized. All participants are assigned to an app task to view 20 products and see the 'rating' these products would get according to their condition.

Primary outcomes

  1. Comprehension task - ability to identify healthy products (survey measure)

    Time frame: 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied

    The participant's ability to identify the most healthy product in a group of 5 products in a task rating 5 products with varying levels of 'healthiness' according to modified FSANZ criteria. Question wording: Please rank these products in terms of healthiness where 1 is the"most healthy" and 5 is the "least healthy" cereal

  2. Comprehension task - ability to identify unhealthy products (survey measure)

    Time frame: 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied

    The participant's ability to identify the least healthy product in a group of products in a group of 5 products in a task rating 5 products with varying levels of 'healthiness' according to modified FSANZ criteria. Question wording: Please rank these products in terms of healthiness where 1 is the"most healthy" and 5 is the "least healthy" cereal

Secondary outcomes

  1. Comprehension task - ability to identify the overall 'healthiness' of a product (survey measure - Likert scale)

    Time frame: 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied

    The participant's ability to accurately rate a product as more or less healthy according to the type and amount of nutritional information on the product, using a 7 point Likert scale. Question wording: How healthy is this (product) for you?

  2. Hypothetical purchasing of products (survey measure - Likert scale)

    Time frame: 1 day (assessed immediately after app task and while viewing products with labelling system applied

    The participant's perceived likelihood of purchasing a product according to the type and amount of nutritional information on the product, using a 7 point Likert scale.

    Question wording: Assume this product has a cost similar to other (product category). If you were shopping for (product), how likely would you be to purchase this one?

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Toronto

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2017
Primary completion
2017
Study completion
2017
First posted
Sep 21, 2017
Registry last updated
Oct 4, 2018

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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