Do Simple Nutrition Labels on the Grocery Store Shelf Help Consumers Make Healthier Food Choices?

Promoting healthy food choices is a critical component of any public health strategy designed to reduce the risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases. Nutrition labels are one tool that support consumers in making sound choices. But to what extent do consumers respond to labelling, in particular, to a simple, standardized on-shelf nutrition labelling system in supermarkets?  A new study in The Milbank Quarterly has found that the use of a simple, at-a-glance nutritional summary of the product that is located on retail shelf tags in supermarkets resulted in small but significant shifts towards consumers purchasing food with higher nutritional ratings.