Reviews of consumer research on nutrition labelling have identified a gap in scientific evidence about whether nutrition information on food labels is exerting an effect on healthy food choices among consumers. If there is an effect, it is not known how strong the effect is, under which circumstances it occurs, what factors are responsible for it occurring, or whether the effect differs between consumer groups. With this background, the strategic objectives of FLABEL were:
- To determine how nutrition information on food labels can affect dietary choices, consumer habits and food-related health issues by developing and applying an interpretation framework incorporating both the label and other factors/influences.
- To provide the scientific basis on use of nutrition information on food labels, including scientific principles for assessing the impact of different food labelling schemes, to be shared with the EU institutions, the food industry, especially SMEs, and other stakeholders.