Assessing the impact of front-of-package nutrition labeling on public health in Brazil

• Grant number: 18/24030-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition
• Principal Investigator: Neha Khandpur
• Grantee: Neha Khandpur
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Alyssa Moran ; Ana Clara da Fonseca Leitão Duran ; Ana Paula Bortoletto Martins ; Carla Galvão Spinillo ; Carlos Augusto Monteiro ; Eduardo Augusto Fernandes Nilson ; Eric Rimm ; Isabel de Paula Antunes David ; Laís Amaral Mais ; Leticia de Oliveira ; Melissa Amina Madeleine Cavallo Mialon ; Mirtes Garcia Pereira ; Patricia Constante Jaime ; Priscila de Morais Sato
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/01654-3 - Mapping food additives present in ultra-processed foods in Brazil and describing their potential health risks, BP.IC; 19/22278-7 - Assessing the impact of front-of-package nutrition labeling on public health in Brazil, BP.JP

Abstract

This proposal seeks to: (1) determine the impact of Front-Of-Package (FOP) nutrition labels on purchase and consumption decisions of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF) among Brazilian consumers; (2) quantify the health impact of the mandatory inclusion of FOP labels on ultra-processed foods in Brazil; and (3) assess the influence of key stakeholders on the development and the trajectory of implementation of FOP labeling policy in Brazil. It incorporates a combination of robust methods, including experimental methods, qualitative methods, and macro-simulation models and utilizes primary and secondary data to meet the proposal objectives. Results from this proposal will identify individual and contextual factors that influence FOP label use, determine reasons for their limited use, and highlight UPF features that may enhance FOP label effectiveness. They will also help estimate 5-year and 10-year health impacts of the FOP policy, quantify the number of deaths averted by its implementation, and inform government resource allocation. Finally, this proposal will take advantage of the political processes initiated for the finalization of the FOP policy and inform future policy implementation efforts, within the country and internationally. The proposal addresses the demand for this evidence from the Ministry of Health, ANVISA and the Pan American Health Organization to help inform future policy decisions on this topic at the national and the regional level, and from advocacy NGOs like Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor to empower and educate the Brazilian consumer. This proposal additionally provides the evidence needed to inform the debate on nutrition labelling among public health researchers. The validity of this study is independent of ANVISA's final decision on the FOP policy. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MIALON, MELISSA; KHANDPUR, NEHA; MAIS, LAIS AMARAL; MARTINS, ANA PAULA BORTOLETTO. Arguments used by trade associations during the early development of a new front-of-pack nutrition labelling system in Brazil. PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION, v. 24, n. 4, p. 766-774, MAR 2021. (18/24030-0)