Looking Ahead: Health Impact Assessment of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling Schema as a Public Health Measure

Rodrigo Feteira-Santos, Violeta Alarcão, Osvaldo Santos, Ana Virgolino, João Fernandes, Carlota Pacheco Vieira, Maria João Gregório, Paulo Nogueira, Andreia Costa and Pedro Graça
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Rodrigo Feteira-Santos: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Violeta Alarcão: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Osvaldo Santos: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Ana Virgolino: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
João Fernandes: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Carlota Pacheco Vieira: Direção-Geral da Saúde, Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques, 1000-123 Lisboa, Portugal
Maria João Gregório: Direção-Geral da Saúde, Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques, 1000-123 Lisboa, Portugal
Paulo Nogueira: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Andreia Costa: Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Pedro Graça: Direção-Geral da Saúde, Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques, 1000-123 Lisboa, Portugal

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: This study aimed to describe the underlying process, used methods and major recommendations emerging from a comprehensive and prospective health impact assessment of the endorsement of a front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FOP-NL) system by the Portuguese health authorities. A mixed-methods approach was used to gather information on the impact of four FOP-NL schemes on consumers’ selection of food products according to the perception of their nutritional quality, combining a systematic literature review, focus groups (FG), in-depth individual interviews, and an open-label crossover randomized controlled study. The relevance of FOP-NL as a public health promotion policy has emerged as a consensual idea among either FGs’ participants (i.e., consumers and experts), or interviewed stakeholders. Although all of the evaluated FOP-NLs result better than no system on promoting the choice of the healthiest product, the effectiveness of easy-to-interpret FOP-NL among vulnerable groups raised concerns related to the need of integrating specific nutritional information to promote a better self-management of chronic diseases, and related to the level of literacy of consumers, which could impair the usage of FOP-NL. Educational campaigns addressing skills to use FOP-NL is recommended. Furthermore, a monitoring strategy should be considered to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of this policy in promoting healthier food choices, and in reducing diet-related non-communicable diseases burden.

Keywords: food labelling; front-of-pack labelling; nutrition policy; health impact assessment; health literacy; health equity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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