Dataset Information

Calorie Labeling and Product Reformulation: A Longitudinal Analysis of Supermarket-Prepared Foods.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The 2010 Affordable Care Act required chain retail food establishments, including supermarkets, to post calorie information for prepared (i.e., ready to eat) foods. Implementation of calorie labeling could spur companies to reduce the calorie content of prepared foods, but few studies have explored this. This study evaluates the changes in the calorie content of prepared foods at 2 large U.S. supermarket chains after they implemented calorie labels in April 2017.

Methods

The chains (≈1,200 stores) provided data on the calorie content and labeling status of all items sold between July 2015 and January 2019. In 2021, analyses used a difference-in-differences approach to examine the changes in the calorie content of prepared bakery, entree, and deli items introduced before calorie labeling to those introduced after the labeling compared with changes in similar foods not subject to the new labeling requirement. Primary analyses examined continuously available items; exploratory analyses examined items newly introduced to the marketplace.

Results

Relative to changes in comparison foods not subject to the labeling requirement, continuously available prepared bakery items decreased by 7.7 calories per item after calorie labels were implemented (95% CI= -12.9, -2.5, p=0.004, ≈0.5% reduction). In exploratory analyses, prepared bakery items introduced after calorie labeling contained 440 fewer calories per item than those introduced before calorie labeling (95% CI= -773.9, -106.1, p=0.01, ≈27% reduction), driven by reductions in product size. No changes were observed in the calorie content of continuously available or newly introduced prepared entrees or deli items.

Conclusions

Implementing calorie labels could encourage product reformulation among some types of prepared supermarket foods. These supply-side changes could lead to reductions in caloric intake.

SUBMITTER: Grummon AH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8384707 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Calorie Labeling and Product Reformulation: A Longitudinal Analysis of Supermarket-Prepared Foods.

Grummon Anna H AH Petimar Joshua J Zhang Fang F Rao Anjali A Gortmaker Steven L SL Rimm Eric B EB Bleich Sara N SN Moran Alyssa J AJ Franckle Rebecca L RL Polacsek Michele M Simon Denise D Greene Julie C JC Till Sue S Block Jason P JP

American journal of preventive medicine 20210605 3

<h4>Introduction</h4>The 2010 Affordable Care Act required chain retail food establishments, including supermarkets, to post calorie information for prepared (i.e., ready to eat) foods. Implementation of calorie labeling could spur companies to reduce the calorie content of prepared foods, but few studies have explored this. This study evaluates the changes in the calorie content of prepared foods at 2 large U.S. supermarket chains after they implemented calorie labels in April 2017.<h4>Methods< ...[more]

PMID: 34103209

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Project description:ImportanceCalorie labels for prepared (ie, ready-to-eat) foods are required in large chain food establishments in the US. Large evaluations in restaurants suggest small declines in purchases of prepared foods after labeling, but to the authors' knowledge, no studies have examined how this policy influences supermarket purchases.ObjectiveTo estimate changes in calories purchased from prepared foods and potential packaged substitutes compared with control foods after calorie labeling of prepared foods in supermarkets.Design, setting, and participantsThis controlled interrupted time series compared sales 2 years before labeling implementation (April 2015-April 2017) with sales 7 months after labeling implementation (May 2017-December 2017). Data from 173 supermarkets from a supermarket chain with locations in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont were analyzed from March 2020 to May 2022.InterventionImplementation of calorie labeling of prepared foods in April 2017.Main outcomes and measuresPurchased items were classified as prepared foods, potential packaged substitutes for prepared foods, or all other (ie, control) foods. The primary outcome was mean weekly calories per transaction purchased from prepared foods, and the secondary outcome was mean weekly calories per transaction purchased from similar packaged items (for substitution analyses). Analyses of prepared and packaged foods were stratified by food category (bakery, entrées and sides, or deli meats and cheeses).ResultsAmong the included 173 supermarkets, calorie labeling was associated with a mean 5.1% decrease (95% CI, -5.8% to -4.4%) in calories per transaction purchased from prepared bakery items and an 11.0% decrease (95% CI, -11.9% to -10.1%) from prepared deli items, adjusted for changes in control foods; no changes were observed for prepared entrées and sides (change = 0.3%; 95% CI, -2.5% to 3.0%). Labeling was also associated with decreased calories per transaction purchased from packaged bakery items (change = -3.9%; 95% CI, -4.3% to -3.6%), packaged entrées and sides (change = -1.2%; 95% CI, -1.4% to -0.9%), and packaged deli items (change = -2.1%; 95% CI, -2.4% to -1.7%).Conclusions and relevanceIn this longitudinal study of supermarkets, calorie labeling of prepared foods was associated with small to moderate decreases in calories purchased from prepared bakery and deli items without evidence of substitution to similar packaged foods.

Project description:BackgroundIn late March 2020, the Mexican government announced an updated norm to include front-of-pack warning labels for packaged foods and non-alcoholic beverages. Warning labels came into effect in October 2020. To avoid displaying warning labels, producers can reformulate their products by reducing the content of calories or critical nutrients targeted by the policy (added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium) or removing non-caloric sweeteners or added caffeine. The objective of this study is to assess changes in the percentage of products above warning-label cutoffs for calories and critical nutrients and changes in the content of calories and critical nutrients associated with warning labels in Mexico.Methods and findingsWe used nutritional panel data collected by the Mexican National Institute of Public Health from ≈1,000 top-purchased products, which represented ≥60% of the market share for each of the included food groups according to household purchases in the Nielsen Consumer Panel commercial dataset for Mexico in 2016. Nutritional panel data is available for three periods: 2016-2017, T0 (pre-policy); Jul-Sep 2020, T1 (post-warning-label announcement); and Feb-Apr 2021, T2 (post-warning-label implementation). We assessed changes in T1 versus T0 (potential anticipatory reformulation before the warning-label implementation) and T2 versus T0 (reformulation after the warning-label implementation) by food group using generalized estimating equations for the percentage of products above warning-label cutoffs or containing non-caloric sweeteners or added caffeine, and fixed-effects linear models and quantile regressions for the content of calories and critical nutrients. Included food groups were cereal-based desserts, bread and other cereals, salty snacks, sweetened beverages, solid dairy, liquid dairy, instant food, and candies. At T0, the food group level with the lowest percentage of products with at least one calorie/nutrient content above warning-label cutoffs was instant food (77.8%); at T2, this fell to 52.6%. Based on our statistical models, we found that all food groups showed reductions in at least one type of warning label. The most common reductions in the percentage of products exceeding warning-label cutoffs were for sodium (up to -63.1 percentage points for bread and other cereals; 95% CI: -77.5, -48.6; p-value < 0.001), saturated fat (up to -26.3 percentage points for salty snacks; 95% CI: -35.8, -16.8; p-value < 0.001), and products containing non-caloric sweeteners (up to -29.0 percentage points for solid dairy; 95% CI: -40.7, -17.2; p-value < 0.001). The reductions in products above warning-label cutoffs were coupled with reductions in products' content of calories and critical nutrients. According to quantile regressions, these reductions mostly occurred at the 50th-75th percentiles. Product reformulation mainly occurred in T2.ConclusionOur findings show product reformulation due to reductions in critical nutrients/calories after the warning-label policy implementation, which entails improving the nutritional profile of the packaged food and beverage supply in Mexico.

Project description:BackgroundDietary energy density is thought to be a contributor to obesity, but the extent to which different magnitudes and types of reductions to food energy density decreases daily energy intake is unclear. The primary objective was to systematically review and meta-analyse experimental studies that have examined the effect that manipulating energy density of food has on total daily energy intake. Secondary objectives were to examine moderators of the effect that altering energy density has on daily energy intake and effects on body weight.MethodsA systematic review and multi-level meta-analysis of studies on human participants that used an experimental design to manipulate the energy density of foods served and measured energy intake for a minimum of 1 day.ResultsThirty-one eligible studies sampling both children (n = 4) and adults (n = 27) contributed 90 effects comparing the effect of higher vs. lower energy density of served food on daily energy intake to the primary meta-analysis. Lower energy density of food was associated with a large decrease in daily energy intake (SMD = - 1.002 [95% CI: - 0.745 to - 1.266]). Findings were consistent across studies that did vs. did not manipulate macronutrient content to vary energy density. The relation between decreasing energy density and daily energy intake tended to be strong and linear, whereby compensation for decreases to energy density of foods (i.e. by eating more at other meals) was minimal. Meta-analysis of (n = 5) studies indicated that serving lower energy dense food tended to be associated with greater weight loss than serving higher energy dense food, but this difference was not significant (- 0.7 kg difference in weight change, 95% CIs: - 1.34, 0.04).ConclusionsDecreasing the energy density of food can substantially reduce daily energy intake and may therefore be an effective public health approach to reducing population level energy intake.Trial registrationRegistered on PROSPERO ( CRD42020223973 ).

Dataset Information

Calorie Labeling and Product Reformulation: A Longitudinal Analysis of Supermarket-Prepared Foods.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Calorie Labeling and Product Reformulation: A Longitudinal Analysis of Supermarket-Prepared Foods.

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