@article{Zou:116421,
      recid = {116421},
      author = {Zou, Ning Ning (Helen) and Hobbs, Jill E.},
      title = {THE ROLE OF LABELLING IN CONSUMERS’ FUNCTIONAL FOOD  CHOICES},
      address = {2010},
      number = {700-2016-48017},
      pages = {30},
      year = {2010},
      abstract = {Given the credence nature of functional food attributes  labelling plays a key role in
allowing consumers to make  informed choices about foods with enhanced health  attributes.
The degree to which a particular jurisdiction  permits health claims for food products and the type of  allowable health claim influence the information set  available to consumers. In Canada the regulatory  environment governing health claims for functional food  products is
somewhat more restrictive than in other  jurisdictions, including the United States. Food  manufacturers therefore also use visual imagery to suggest  a health benefit, such as the picture of a red heart to  imply that a product has heart health benefits. The  paper
characterizes these labelling strategies as “partial  labelling”, while “full labelling’’ refers to formal health  claims on food labels, ranging from general  (structure-function) claims, to risk reduction claims, to  disease prevention claims. This paper explores the effect  of labelling (full and partial) on consumers’ functional  food choices. How might different types of labelling  information and the verification of health claims by  different agencies
affect consumers’ preferences for  functional foods? Using data from an online survey of
740  Canadians conducted in summer 2009 the paper uses discrete  choice modelling to
examine the responses of Canadian  consumers to different product labelling strategies  for
milk enhanced with Omega-3. Conditional Logit and  Latent Class models are estimated.
Preliminary results  suggest that full labelling is preferred over partial  labelling, but primarily for risk reduction claims. There  is no significant difference between a function claim, such  as “good for your heart” and partial labelling in the form  of a red heart symbol.
The choice experiment included  verification of health claims by a government  agency
(Health Canada) or by a third party (Heart and  Stroke Foundation). The preliminary results suggest that  consumers on average respond positively to verification of  health claims, however, the latent class model reveals  considerable heterogeneity in consumer attitudes toward the  source of verification. Interactions between  key-socio-demographic and attitudinal variables and the  main effects variables in the choice experiment provide  further insights into consumer responses.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/116421},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.116421},
}