Why Don’t You [Government] Help Us Make Healthier Foods More Affordable Instead of Bombarding Us with Labels? Maternal Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices after Full Implementation of the Chilean Food Labelling Law

Teresa Correa, Camila Fierro, Marcela Reyes, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Francesca Renee Dillman Carpentier and Camila Corvalán
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Teresa Correa: School of Communication, Diego Portales University, Vergara, Santiago 240, Chile
Camila Fierro: School of Communication, Diego Portales University, Vergara, Santiago 240, Chile
Marcela Reyes: Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile, El Líbano 5524, Chile
Lindsey Smith Taillie: Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7461, USA
Francesca Renee Dillman Carpentier: School of Media and Journalism, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Camila Corvalán: Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile, El Líbano 5524, Chile

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Experimental and real-life evaluations show that the use of front-of-package warning labels (FoP) in unhealthy foods is well understood and can modify people’s behaviors. However, it is unclear whether these effects remain in the long term because of the risk of message fatigue. The purpose of this study is to explore after four years of implementation of the Chilean Food Labelling law people’s dietary behavior and FoP labels attention. Nine focus groups of mothers (7–10 people each) of children (2–14 yo) were conducted in Santiago, Chile, and macrocodes were developed, combining an iterative process of deductive and inductive thematic analyses. We found that mothers experienced labels’ fatigue but also had greater knowledge about nutrition and appreciation for more natural foods. This greater knowledge about better nutrition interferes with the perception that healthier and less processed foods are financial and physically inaccessible. The key role of schools as an environment for promoting healthier diets in children was strengthened by the mothers. These results suggest that policies based on providing consumer information need reinforcement campaigns to maintain their effectiveness and that we also need to advance policies to improve access and affordability of healthy foods to ensure better diets.

Keywords: Chile Labelling law; knowledge; perception and practices of nutrition policies; focus groups (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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