The Effect of Nutrition Labeling on Consumption in Dining Halls
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Nutrition labels were introduced in spring 2008 by Cornell dining to various prepackaged meals on campus. Food sales data were analyzed before and after the nutrition labels went into effect. While a number of previous studies have shown that consumers use nutrition labels when purchasing foods, most of these studies have relied on self-reported data. Previous studies have also shown that consumers may not be able to apply the information on nutrition labels when trying to purchase healthier foods. Therefore, this study sought to determine whether the nutrition labels helped the Cornell community to purchase healthier foods. Foods sold in three dining locations throughout campus were categorized by their amount of calories, fat, sodium, percent calories from fat, and fiber. Food sales data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (version 16.0) to test for how sales data changed from spring 2007 to spring 2008. The results indicated that there were significant effects of the nutrition labels on which foods were purchased between the two years. Specifically, there was a decrease in the percentage of foods sold with high calories, fat, percent calories from fat, and sodium. However, there was also a decrease in the percentage of sales due to high fiber foods. This study has public policy implications, as menu-labeling laws are becoming more popular across the nation.