Front-of-package references to fiber on foods in Canadian supermarkets highlight the need for increased nutrition knowledge among consumers

Abstract

Objective: To assess the nature of the guidance on fiber, a nutrient for which many Canadians' intakes are suboptimal, provided by manufacturers' use of front-of-package references on food in Canadian supermarkets.

Design/setting: Survey of all prepackaged food sold in 3 large supermarkets in Toronto.

Variables measured: Front-of-package references to fiber and other forms of nutrition-related marketing were recorded from all products. For a subsample of breads, Nutrition Facts table information was also collected.

Analysis: Descriptive statistics; t test.

Results: Front-of-package references to fiber were found on 6% of all foods, but large proportions of high fiber foods bore no front-of-package references to fiber. Many foods making a reference to fiber (17%) are "foods to limit," according to Canada's Food Guide. Front-of-package references to fiber were declared in at least 30 different ways, and 31% used unregulated language. Among breads, use of regulated language was associated with higher fiber content.

Conclusions and implications: Consumers may be faced with challenges in seeking out healthful sources of fiber in the grocery store, given the complexity of existing front-of-package nutrition-related marketing and limited references to fiber in some categories. This work suggests that current nutrition-related marketing cannot function as a substitute for nutrition education.

Keywords: dietary fiber; front-of-package; nutrition labeling; nutrition literacy; nutrition-related marketing.