A Comparison of Process and Ingredient Claims on US and EU Foods

Significant research has been conducted to identify the extent to which consumers use label information. Much of this relates to nutrition labeling, yet increasingly foods are being marketed with ever more ingredient and process claims such as all natural or organic. Key studies consider the determinants of label use, debates over mandatory labeling, the label formats preferred by consumers, and the effect of nutrition label use on purchase patterns and dietary behavior. However, much less research has been attempted that tracks the claims actually made on food labels. This paper addresses this gap by comparing claims across the US and EU. The objective of this paper is to compare and identify All Natural, Organic and Vegetarian package claims that are actually made on 32,289 food labels in 2009 and to compare the results between the US and the EU.