The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated the definition of "healthy" for food packaging in 2024, replacing a 1992 rule and aligning the term with current nutrition science and federal dietary guidance. The agency also proposed an "FDA healthy" label icon; that icon remains under review.
An experiment published in Food Quality and Preference tested how such labels affect decisions. In 2023 researchers at Oregon State University and Tufts University studied 267 shoppers at six grocery stores in the Boston area. Participants used tablets to view pictures of 15 real products; nine met the new FDA "healthy" standards. Shoppers first saw items without labels and then saw them with either a generic healthy icon or the proposed FDA icon when the product qualified.
Participants received $5 in cash and a $10 store gift card, and they were told the $5 could be applied to a purchase. The study found shoppers were more likely to pick healthy snacks and that labeled items raised the amount consumers were willing to pay. Only the FDA icon showed a statistically significant effect, with shoppers on average willing to pay 59 cents more for a healthy product with the FDA-endorsed label. Effects varied with trust in government. Lead author Katherine Fuller and senior author Sean Cash said trust and credible labels can shape purchases; coauthors include researchers at Tufts and New York University. Source: Tufts University.
Difficult words
- agency — government organization that makes rules
- propose — to suggest an idea or plan formallyproposed
- experiment — test to study how something works
- statistically — in a way related to numerical data
- trust — belief that someone or something is reliable
- consumer — person who buys or uses productsconsumers
- endorse — to publicly support or approve somethingendorsed
- qualify — to meet necessary conditions or standardsqualified
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Have you ever chosen a product because of a health label? Why or why not?
- Would a government-endorsed label make you trust a product more? Explain briefly.
- How could clear healthy labels change shopping for snacks in your community?
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