May 20, 1998
CONTACT: Shirley Hulett, (619) 594-2585
San Diego State Public Health Study Recommends Take Snack Cracker Health Claims ‘With Grain of Salt’
Even if snack crackers say they’re low fat or low cholesterol, it’s a good idea to take those nutritional labels "with a grain of salt." That’s the conclusion of San Diego State University researchers who studied possible misleading nutritional claims on cracker packages in 1991 and again in 1995 to see what changes had occurred after enforcement of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. The results of the study, presented in the latest issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, indicate that while the labeling picture improved, it’s still "buyer beware" when shopping in the cracker aisle.
The research team, headed by Dr. Joni Mayer of San Diego State’s Graduate School of Public Health, first surveyed shoppers to find out which health claims on packages they associated with heart disease prevention. Cracker products chosen for the study included snack crackers located in the snack cracker aisle, and in the deli, health food and diet food section of grocery stores. Researchers then recorded the fat content of each product and developed criteria for potentially misleading claims.
Analysis of both cross-sectional data and products available in both years showed that fat content, as well as the number of products containing target claims had significantly decreased by 1995. The prevalence of potentially misleading claims declined significantly from 77 percent in 1991 to 49 per cent in 1995.
"While the data regarding the changes from 1991 to 1995 are encouraging, the prevalence of potentially misleading health claims for this food category continues to be high," Mayer says. "We found that in most cases, the misleading information was not an outright lie. Rather, the claim capitalized on what consumers associate with being ‘healthy.’ This type of misleading claim, known as ‘claim-belief interaction,’ was used recently by a tobacco company when it promoted cigarettes with the claim of ‘no additives.’"
Other members of the research team were Tamara Maciel, Patrica Orlanski, and Geralynn Flynn-Polan. Copies of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine article available upon request.
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