“I think it’s a misunderstanding that people don’t read food labels,” said research co-author Jennifer Pomerants, an assistant professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health. “People who have been diagnosed with or are at risk of illness, elderly people, people with children … people with allergies … people are reading food labels for a variety of reasons, It’s very important for safety. “
The survey examined 10 major national packaged products from nine online retailers in early 2021 and found that almost 11% of all retailers’ products did not contain any nutritional or ingredient lists. I did. Studies have shown that 63% of products containing them did not disclose the presence of common food allergens.
The US Food and Drug Administration specifies the information that needs to be made available to consumers. This includes serving servings, calories, added sugars, allergens, ingredients, and daily values of sodium, sugars, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
“I argue that not disclosing nutrition labels and ingredient lists containing allergens is an unfair or deceptive act,” Pomeranz said.
Wendy White, industry manager for food and beverages at Georgia Institute of Technology, who is not involved in the study, said the study was limited due to the small sample size. White added that a small sample could limit the ability of studies to accurately assess the status of online nutritional information.
Follow Covid-19
In a world where people are becoming more conscientious about what their food contains, Pomeranz speculates that excluding nutritional information is a strategy for selling packaged foods.
However, White considers this issue to be more strategic than strategic.
“The pandemic has changed everything for everyone,” White said. “Suddenly this became a front-line problem because it really fueled (online) sales growth in a way that no one could have predicted.”
“This is the same excuse, but I think the pandemic caught many retailers unnoticed and had to build an online e-commerce platform very quickly,” she added.
For companies that want to get a lot of products to a lot of people quickly, it’s much easier to publish a photo of the package online than to make all the information easily accessible, White said. Explained.
The US Food and Drug Administration is responsible for regulating labeling practices, and White said authorities are taking steps to address the online information gap, which may take some time.
“I think the FDA is taking steps to ensure that this gap is being closed in certain online food sales, but unfortunately the FDA is significantly slower in developing and enforcing regulations.” She said.
In the past, the FDA has recommended that online nutrition information be similar to in-store information, but “acknowledges that most labeling requirements precede online sales practices.” Said FDA spokeswoman Courtney Rhodes. The agency learned more about online labeling to notify them of recommendations and discussed this issue at the October E-Commerce Summit.
“The FDA expects to be more involved with stakeholders on this issue to inform them of the next steps,” Rhodes said.
People need to know
Mr White said that many people are cautious about what they eat, whether they are allergic, diabetic, high blood pressure, or just paying attention to their health.
“Understanding what’s in a product, especially a compounded product, is essential for many consumers around the world,” says White.
In the United States, there are rules and regulations regarding how businesses disclose nutritional information. It shows both the ingredients in the food and the amount of potentially harmful elements such as sodium and sugar.
“American consumers are very accustomed to having very easy access to this information. They go to the supermarket, pick it up, look at the label and see exactly what’s in the product. I’m used to understanding it, “White said.
Policies at the national level may be lagging, but the public can promote transparency from online grocery stores where they choose to spend money, Pomeranz said.
“It’s important to know that people aren’t shopping blank, as online retailers have the ability to track our purchases and what we’ve searched online,” she said. .. “With that knowledge, it’s worth looking for a retailer to provide the information.”
“It’s becoming an even hotter topic for young consumers, and obviously they may have a lot of consumer power, so retailers can’t compete in terms of their transparency,” Pomeranz said. It will be worth it. “
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