How Online Grocery Stores Support Consumer Nutrition Information Needs.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the availability of nutrition-related information and features on leading online grocery store Web sites. Methods Twelve US grocery Web sites were assessed to determine (1) if Nutrition Facts panel or ingredient statements were available for 26 food items; and (2) if options to filter or sort search results by nutrition-related food attributes were available. Results Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient statement information were available for most foods for which this information is required on product packaging (85% of foods). Most stores offered the ability to filter food search results by a nutrition-related food attribute. The ability to sort search results by a nutrition attribute was not an option at any of the stores. Conclusions and Implications Online grocery stores include a variety of nutrition-related features. However, the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient statement information are not universally available for foods for which this information is required on product packaging.