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Revista Costarricense de Salud Pública
versión impresa ISSN 1409-1429
Resumen
BLANCO VALVERDE, Ángela María; BLANCO METZLER, Adriana y MONTERO CAMPOS, María de los Ángeles. Knowledge, relevance, use, and preferences of the adult population in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica about the front-of-pack nutritional labeling of food processed for intake. Rev. costarric. salud pública [online]. 2018, vol.27, n.2, pp.93-105. ISSN 1409-1429.
Objective:
To explore the knowledge, relevance, use, and preferences of the adult population in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica about the front-of-pack nutritional labeling of food processed for intake when making decisions and taking actions related to diet and nutrition.
Methodology:
The present is an explorative, quali-quantitative study based on a structured questionnaire. Men and women who were from 20 to 64 years old from the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica gave over one hundred interviews during November 2016.
Results:
The interviewees were Costa Rican young adults with some university degree. Most interviewees admitted knowing front-of-pack nutritional labeling of food, especially those that are part of the monochromatic and colored Guideline Daily Amount. Results also showed that the front-of-pack nutritional labeling might improve the reading and interpretation of nutritional information. Additionally, the aforementioned labeling seems to also have an effect on food purchases just as it is considered a useful tool to prevent non-transmissible chronic diseases. Population study preferred the Guideline Daily Amount and “traffic light” labels over other types and supported the idea of using a unique, simple, and standard front-of-pack labeling in all food categories. Colors and nutritional descriptors were fundamental to define the nutritional labeling used in Costa Rica.
Conclusion:
A front-of-pack nutritional labeling easy to interpret like a colored Guideline Daily Amounte was thought preferable by a educated population who represents a possible agent of change when it comes to healthy eating habits that, at the same time, might bepositively impacted by this population’s characteristic healthy eating choices.
Palabras clave : Food labeling; nutritional labeling; chronic disease; food packaging; food consumption; feeding behavior; Costa Rica.