'Healthy' Food Labels May Not Mean What Shoppers Think, Study Finds
Summary
A study by Cornell University analyzed nearly 150,000 food and drink products sold in the U.S. over the past decade and found that many items with health claims like "low fat" or "reduced sodium" were not healthier overall. The research showed that reducing one unhealthy ingredient often meant increasing another, so the overall nutrition was sometimes worse despite the health claims.Key Facts
- Researchers studied about 150,000 food and beverage products launched in the U.S. in the last ten years.
- Many products with labels like "low fat" or "no trans fat" were found to have poorer overall nutrition.
- Products often reduced one ingredient (like sodium) but added more sugar or saturated fat.
- The study used the Nutrient Profiling Model, which scores foods based on multiple nutrients including sugar, sodium, fat, fiber, and protein.
- Around two-thirds of the products analyzed were less healthy overall, even though about half had health-related claims on the packaging.
- Beverages showed the biggest difference between health claims and overall nutrition, often having more sugar despite "low sodium" or "sugar free" labels.
- Claims such as "natural," "organic," or "non-GMO" are not regulated as nutrition claims but often make consumers think a product is healthier (known as the "halo effect").
- The Food and Drug Administration is working to improve how nutrition is labeled on packages to help consumers better understand product healthiness.
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