(Ab)use of Health Claims in Websites: The Case of Italian Bottled Waters

Giulia Lorenzoni, Clara Minto, Matteo Temporin, Elisa Fuscà, Anna Bolzon, Gianluca Piras, Sabino Iliceto, Marco Silano and Dario Gregori
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Giulia Lorenzoni: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Clara Minto: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Matteo Temporin: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Elisa Fuscà: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Anna Bolzon: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Gianluca Piras: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Sabino Iliceto: Unit of Cardiology, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
Marco Silano: Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy
Dario Gregori: Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: The massive use of web marketing makes the monitoring of nutrition and health claims used in advertising campaigns much more difficult. The present study aimed at reviewing the website content for bottled waters produced in Italy to assess (i) if nutrition and health claims are reported, (ii) what types of nutrition and health claims are reported most frequently, and (iii) if the nutrition and health claims could be considered appropriate according to the current regulation in the field. A review of the website content of the 253 bottled waters produced in Italy and reported in the annual report of Bevitalia 2016–2017 was conducted. For each brand, indications related to the preventive, curative or therapeutic properties of the water reported were examined. Bottled waters that included potentially misleading information apparently not consistent with the European Directive on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters were identified. Forty bottled waters with uncertain website content were identified. The information reported in the websites referred most often to beneficial effects for urinary tract and cardiovascular systems. Present results highlight, using the bottled water case study, that website content sometimes happens to deliver misleading information to consumers, also thanks to uncertain regulation in this sensitive field.

Keywords: website content; bottled water; health claims; nutrition claims; consumers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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