Have you noticed the green colored nutrition labels that have been showing up on candy bar wrappers? That color choice was not a random call.
In a response to industry demand motivated by the increasing prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases, more and more food products are now bearing “front-of-package” nutrition labels that highlight some of the key nutrients within those foods. The intent is to help consumers have an easier time making decisions regarding what they eat. These new labels generally include: calories, fat, sodium, fiber and/or sugar content.
While these new labels can be a benefit to the consumer, to the manufacturer of unhealthy packaged “foods” they pose a problem. Why would you want to make it easier for consumers to determine how unhealthy your food product is??
To solve that problem, the manufacturer of select candy bars came up with a clever solution – color that new label green. Problem solved.
You may wonder- why would merely adding the color green to a label have any impact on this problem??
I’m glad you asked!
This brings us to two fascinating new studies conducted at Cornell University. (Published Feb 27, 2013)
Study 1:
“participants perceived a candy bar as healthier when it bore a green rather than a red calorie label, despite the fact that the labels conveyed the same calorie content.”
Study 2:
“examined the perceived healthfulness of a candy bar bearing a green versus white calorie label” “Overall, results suggest that green labels increase perceived healthfulness, especially among consumers who place high importance on healthy eating.”
The researchers suggest that most likely the green implies “go” in the mind of consumers.
One can also consider this reaction a health “halo effect” of sorts, whereby when one component of the label is associated with health (the color green means healthy!) it influences our perception of the entire food – through it’s association with the color green, we think the candy bar must be healthy as well.
This leads us to the next question: how do food manufacturers get away with this obviously deceptive tactic?
The simple truth is that unlike the nutrition fact panel on foods, these new “front-of-the-package” food labels are not closely monitored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And even though the FDA has issued warnings to 17 food companies for deceptive labeling, and even though articles have appeared including one in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) calling this tactic a “breach of consumer trust” – these practices still continue among select food manufacturers.
My 2 cents: it is sad that an initiative designed to help consumers make more informed decision regarding the food they purchase, has been manipulated by some manufacturers to take advantage of human instinct and essentially, trick consumers into purchasing their products.
In my opinion, as consumers we need to take a stand and vote with our fork. Let’s stop supporting manufacturers that are intentionally manipulating our fellow consumers. If you must satisfy a candy craving, bypass these green labels and instead, choose a product from a manufacturer that has a little more respect for you and I.
Better yet, to satisfy a sweet craving consider reaching for a warm cup of tea and a high quality, antioxidant and phytonutrient rich piece of dark chocolate (with a 70% or greater cacao content), a few almonds to add to the satiety and lower the glycemic load of the snack and then… savor it.
A Manner of Living 