New Eye Tracking Study Reveals How Consumers Look at Food Label Packaging

JERUSALEM — A new consumer study using eye-tracking technology study found that both the design and familiarity of front-of-package nutrition labels shape what they notice and how they interpret food products. The findings could be helpful in the U.S. as the Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to overhaul a Biden-era proposal requiring new labels on the front of packaged foods identifying a product’s level of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar.

According to the study led by Prof. Aron M. Troen of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment along with Dr. Gerrit Hummel and Prof. Nanette Stroebele-Benschop of the University of Hohenheim, and Prof. Eyal Ert and the results showed that both label design and familiarity matter.

Published in Frontiers in Nutrition, the study included 223 participants, 112 in Germany and 111 in Israel. Germany’s Nutri-Score summarizes a food’s nutritional profile on a five-level scale from a green A to a red E. Israel instead requires red warning labels on foods high in sugar, sodium or saturated fat, alongside a voluntary green label for certain healthier foods.

The researchers directly compared the German Nutri-Score and the Israeli warning label system using eye-tracking technology, measuring not only what consumers said about the labels, but what they actually looked at and how healthy they perceived it to be.

Participants in both countries found Israel’s warning-label system easier to understand and more helpful for making healthy choices than Nutri-Score, offering timely evidence as Europe and the United States reconsider how nutrition information should appear on packaged foods.

Participants spent more time examining unfamiliar labels, while familiar labels were noticed more quickly. Germans looked longer at the Israeli labels, while Israelis spent more time looking at Nutri-Score, but in both countries, participants detected their familiar national label faster.

The two labelling systems also appeared to communicate differently about less-healthy foods. Most notably, products carrying explicit red warnings tended to receive more critical evaluations than the same products presented with Nutri-Score, which generally produced more moderate judgments. In addition, participants in both countries rated the Israeli warning-label system as easier to understand and more helpful for choosing healthy foods than Nutri-Score, despite their very different levels of familiarity with the systems.

“Food labels are not just graphics on a package. They are public-health interventions,” said the researchers. “Whether a system gives a food an overall score or explicitly warns that it is high in sugar, sodium or saturated fat can change what consumers notice and what they understand. Decisions about these systems should therefore be based on evidence about how people actually respond to them.”

The European Union has been considering a harmonized mandatory front-of-package nutrition label, but disagreement remains over what form such a system should take. The debate reflects a broader question: should labels provide consumers with an overall nutritional score, or clearly warn them when specific nutrients exceed recommended levels?

The same discussion is taking place in the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration has proposed a front-of-package “Nutrition Info” box that would classify saturated fat, sodium and added sugars as “Low,” “Med” or “High.”

The researchers stress out that the study does not establish one universal “best” label. Nutri-Score can help consumers compare products along a nutritional scale, while nutrient-specific warnings serve a different purpose by drawing attention to potentially problematic ingredients. The current findings show that the way nutrition information is communicated is not neutral.

“Different systems are designed to achieve different things,” Troen said. “The question policymakers need to ask is not simply which label people prefer, but which system best achieves the public-health goal they are trying to accomplish.”

The researchers also caution that the study used controlled, fictional food packages and non-representative samples, meaning larger and more diverse studies will be needed. Still, the international comparison offers new evidence that effective labels must not only contain the right information, but also attract attention and be easily understood.

About the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Israel’s premier institution of higher learning and a beacon for visionary minds who challenge convention and shape the future, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) has pursued excellence in research, education, and innovation for over a century. Founded by luminaries like Albert Einstein, who entrusted his intellectual legacy to the University, HU is dedicated to advancing knowledge, cultivating leadership, and promoting diversity. Home to over 25,000 students from 90 countries, the Hebrew University drives much of Israel’s civilian scientific research and the commercialization of technologies through Yissum, its tech transfer company. Faculty and alumni of the University have earned ten Nobel Prizes, two Turing Awards, and a Fields Medal. For more information about Hebrew University’s academic programs, research, and achievements, please visit http://new.huji.ac.il/en.

About American Friends of the Hebrew University

American Friends of the Hebrew University (AFHU) is a national, not-for-profit organization based in the United States. AFHU is headquartered in New York and has seven regional offices working in close partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. AFHU provides supporters, Hebrew University alumni, and the public with stimulating programs and events, and organizes missions to Israel. For the past century, the organization’s activities have supported scholarly and scientific achievement at HU, created scholarships, funded new facilities, and assisted the University’s efforts to recruit outstanding new faculty.