How do you deceive us with food labeling?

byCascadian Farm

Information such as calories and nutrients described in processed foods was obliged for the first time in the United States in the early 1970s. In the information display that has been done with the intention of raising awareness of health of consumers, in recent years the act of "deceiving" consumers is done using this information display.

'Gluten-free water' shows absurdity of trend in labeling what's absent
https://theconversation.com/gluten-free-water-shows-absurdity-of-trend-in-labeling-whats-absent-80657

◆ History of food label

byMike Schmid

In the United States, until the 1960s, consumers could hardly know what kind of nutrients are contained in the foods they purchase. It was in the early 1970 's that this situation changed and the description of nutrition information became mandatory. Congress who thought that it was necessary to provide more information to consumers in order for people to deeply learn the relationship between eating habits and health established the "Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990" is. Under this law,American Food and Drug Administration(FDA) obliges food sellers to list specific nutrients and other information on products for food items to be sold.

However, although some strict notation such as "organic (organic)" has strict guidelines, "Natural (natural)Many expressions including "are not regulated and are used in various contexts. Many expressions that are not standardized, such as "eggs killed from" cage free "chickens" "milk of cows bred raised" "pasture breeding" "do not indicate specific content.


◆ What is the effect of labels?
Economist Kevin Lancaster's hypothesis states, "People get happiness through" the product's character "rather than" the product itself that might be purchased ".

For example, in the case of a car, its characteristics are color, brand, price, fuel economy and so on. When examining cars on the Internet, people can see visible characteristics such as size and color, but you can not feel the fuel economy without actually using it. In other words, here "only the seller has more information, buyers do not know that"Information asymmetryThere exists. I won the Nobel Prize in economicsGeorge AkarovAccording to Mr., asymmetry of information exists "Market FailureIt will happen.

byCarsten

◆ Disparity in Knowledge
However, in fact, asymmetry of information about the purchase of food is not completely removed, consumers still do not have the knowledge to have about purchasing items. Although there are valuable information such as information of calories and vitamins, some companies use food labels to exploit consumers due to information asymmetry.

One of these methods is "absence label" (display of what is not contained), showing things that have not been entered from the beginning like "gluten-free water", as if "no special entrance", a premium feeling It is a display to give out. Since it is forbidden to use hormones in pigs and chickens in the United States, the indication "hormone free chicken" is actually meaningless in practice. However, the FDA says that such a notation may be made as long as the statement that "the use of hormones is prohibited by federal regulations".


◆ Safety indication
In the United States "GMO labeling obligation law" was established in July 2016, and it will actually come into effect from the summer of 2018. However, when this brings about further confusion, Brandon McFadden, associate professor of food resources economics, thinks.

Economics has "Signal effectThere is what is called. When the quality of contents is unknown, the signal effect is transmitted to the side that the information owner does not haveSignalingIt greatly affects value judgment. In other words, in terms of food labeling, the expression "low salt" implicitly tells consumers that salt must be withheld.

Although genetically modified foods are prohibited from use in some countries and regions, the FDA is viewed as "safe as foods that are not genetically modified". However, McFadden thinks that as soon as the labeling of the GMO is mandated, the result of the signal effect, on the contrary, the food that pushes out the indication "GMO free" will come out.