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Session: Environmental and Behavioral Influences on Nutritional Health (Poster Theater Flash Session 9)

(PTFS09-06-23) Compliance With Mandatory and Voluntary Food Labeling Information Across Major Online Food Retailers in the United States

Monday, July 24, 2023
2:25 PM – 2:29 PM ET
Location:  Fairfax

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Julia Reedy Sharib, MS (she/her/hers)

    Senior Research Coordinator, Mozaffarian Research Group
    Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • JP

    Jennifer Pomeranz, JD, MPH

    School of Global Public Health, New York University

  • Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH

    Distinguished Professor and Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition
    Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, Tufts University
    Tufts School of Medicine and Division of Cardiology
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  • SC

    Sean B. Cash, PhD, PhD

    Associate Professor
    Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Disclosure(s):
Julia Reedy Sharib, MS: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH: Acasti Pharma: Consultant (Terminated)
Barilla: Consultant (Terminated)
Beren Therapeutics: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
Brightseed: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
Calibrate: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing); Stock Shareholder (excluding mutual funds) (Ongoing)
Day Two: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Terminated)
Elysium Health: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
Filtricine: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
Gates Foundation: Grant/Research Support (Terminated)
HumanCo: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing); Stock Shareholder (excluding mutual funds) (Ongoing)
Instacart Health: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
January Inc: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
Kaiser Permanente Fund: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing)
National Institutes of Health: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing)
Perfect Day: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
Season Health: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Terminated)
The Rockefeller Foundation: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing)
Tiny Organics: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Terminated)
UpToDate: Royalties or Patent Beneficiary (Ongoing)
Vail Innovative Global Research: Grant/Research Support (Terminated)
Objectives: The application of laws on mandatory nutrition-related food labeling to online retail is unclear, and thus compliance remains largely at the discretion of retailers (Pomeranz et al, 2022). Post-COVID, online food retailing has exploded, but the current landscape of online food labeling is unclear. We assessed the online provision of mandatory and voluntary nutrition information of a comprehensive food basket across 10 major US online retailers.

Methods: We assessed a basket of 60 common foods and beverages across 8 major product categories. For each item, we evaluated online provision of 4 mandatory elements – Nutrition Facts Panels, ingredient lists, allergen statements, percent juice for fruit drinks – and 7 voluntary elements – nutrient content claims, health and qualified health claims, ingredient claims, structure-function claims, additive claims, front-of-package nutrient profiling symbols, other marketing claims) in the web pages of the retailers between Jan-Aug 2022.

Results: On average, mandatory elements were conspicuously available for about one-third (35.9%) of items, ranging widely (6.6% to 86.3%) by retailer. Average availability of each of the 4 mandatory elements was similar (ranging from 31% to 38.3%). All mandatory elements were only available for 24% of items (range by retailer 0.0% to 62%). Voluntary elements were provided for an average of 45.8% of items (range by retailer 42.8% to 50.6%). Across voluntary elements, most common were marketing claims (83.7%, range by retailer 66.7% to 100%) and nutrient content claims (49.0%, 31.7% to 65.0%); and least common were structure function claims (2.0%, 0.0% to 3.3%) and qualified health claims (3.7%, 0.0% to 8.3%). Voluntary label elements were more often made available than mandatory ones by 6 of 10 retailers and in 7 of 8 product categories.

Conclusions: Mandatory nutrition labeling information in traditional retail settings is not now uniformly provided online, and less consistently than many voluntary elements, with considerable variation across retailers. Coordinated industry or regulatory activity is needed to ensure consumers are afforded appropriate information to make health-promoting and safe food choices when shopping online.

Funding Sources: National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute