Nutrient Content Claims: How They Impact Perceived Healthfulness of Fortified Snack Foods and the Moderating Effects of Nutrition Facts Labels

ABSTRACTNutrient content claims (NCCs) may inflate perceived healthfulness of nutritionally poor foods. The aim of this study is to experimentally test the effects of NCCs on consumers’ perceptions of fortified snack foods in terms of the presence of both healthful and less healthful nutrients, as well as their intentions to consume such products. It also explores the potential moderating effects of reading Nutrition Facts Labels (NFL) on the influence of NCCs. Data for this study were collected through a web-based experiment (N = 5,076). Results indicated that the presence of an NCC on a fortified snack food product increased perceived healthfulness of that product, perceptions of the presence of healthful nutrients, and intentions to consume the product. The presence of NCCs also decreased perceptions of the presence of certain less healthful nutrients. Reading the NFL had mixed effects on the impact of NCCs.