Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Australian Consumer Attitudes To Health Claim - Food Product Compatibility For Functional Foods, P. G. Williams, L. Ridges, M. Batterham, B. Ripper, M. C. Hung

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study with Australian consumers investigated how appealing different health claims combined with particular food carriers were to Australian consumers, and compared the results of a similar study with Dutch consumers. 149 shoppers considered up to 30 different food concepts, rating how ‘attractive’, ‘believable’, and ‘new and different’ they found each concept and their ‘intention to try’. Each variable was significantly related to intention to try (p<0.001) and together explained 56% of the intention score. Claims and carriers independently had a significant effect on ratings of attractiveness and intention to try but, unlike the Dutch study, the carrier was a more important predictor of intention to purchase than the claim. Implications for regulation of health claims for food are discussed.

Can Health Claims For Foods Help Consumers Choose Better Diets?, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Consumers are becoming health-conscious and most agree that eating healthily is a better way to manage illness than using medication. This has led to the increased acceptance and consumption of functional foods with health-promoting capabilities, demonstrated by impressive growth in sales world wide. Functional foods certainly have the potential to assist in disease management or reduction of risk and their use is being increasingly recommended in both medical and dietetic practice. There is an observed ‘push’ from food companies seeking out new markets and profit opportunities, with a concurrent market ‘pull’ from an educated, health-conscious consumer with a higher disposable …

Survey Of Health Claims For Australian Foods Made On Internet Sites, H. Dragicevich, P. G. Williams, L. Ridges

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Aim: Australia and New Zealand are currently preparing a new food standard code, which will allow the use of health claims on food products and in associated advertising. The aim of this study was to obtain preliminary information about the current use of health claims on the Internet and the level of compliance of these claims with existing regulations. Methods: From August to October 2005 a survey was conducted of 1068 websites associated with the top 20 food processing companies in Australia, and an additional 683 websites for food products found to carry health claims in previous studies of product …

Nutrient Function, Health And Related Claims On Packaged Australian Food Products - Prevalence And Compliance With Regulations, P. G. Williams, H. Yeatman, Leisa Ridges, A. Houston, J. Rafferty, A. Roesler, M. Sobierajski, B. Spratt

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Australia and New Zealand are currently reviewing the regulations governing nutrition function, health and related claims on foods. Health claims currently are not permitted on food labels, with one exception. The aim of this study was to describe the use of such claims on packaged food for sale in Australia (excluding nutrient content claims) prior to any changes to the regulations, and measure compliance with existing regulations. A survey was conducted of the labelling of 7850 products (including multiple pack sizes of individual foods) in 47 different food categories on sale in New South Wales in 2003. A total of …

Consumer Understanding And Use Of Health Claims For Foods, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Health claims for foods are permitted in an increasing number of countries but there are very few studies evaluating the effect of such claims on purchase behavior and consumer health. There are significant differences between countries, but in general consumers see health claims as useful, they prefer short succinct wording rather than long and complex claims, and they believe claims should be approved by government. Consumers view a food as healthier if it carries a health claim and this “halo” effect may discourage them seeking further nutrition information. Consumers do not clearly distinguish between nutrient content, structure-function and health claims. …

Communicating Health Benefits - Do We Need Health Claims?, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Many countries are now permitting health claims on foods and Food Standards Australia New Zealand is developing new regulations to permit their use in Australia. However there is no clear understanding of how consumers use health claims and their likely impact on consumer food behaviour or health. More research is needed, but a review of previous studies allows some common conclusions can be drawn. Health claims on foods are seen by consumers as useful, and when a product features a health claim they view it as healthier and state they are more likely to purchase it. Consumers are sceptical of …

Overweight Consumers' Salient Beliefs On Omega-3-Enriched Functional Foods In Australia's Illawarra Region, C. Patch, Linda C. Tapsell, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To determine consumer salient beliefs toward functional foods enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. Design: Focus group interviews with adult consumers using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework. Setting: Community-based residents living in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Participants: Forty-two overweight participants (29 female; 13 male) aged 30-80y recruited by advertisement and attending one of six focus groups which were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis: Content analysis was carried out and sub-categories were developed to capture the emerging themes according to the TPB model. Results: Most participants were aware of a range of …

Impact Evaluation Of A Folate Education Campaign With And Without The Use Of A Health Claim, P. G. Williams, J. Mchenery, Anne Mcmahon, H. Anderson

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To measure the impact of a Kellogg/Northcott Society multimedia folate education campaign, run nationally from July 1998 to June 1999, with and without the use of health claims.

Method Three national telephone surveys of over 500 Australian women aged 18-44 in July and November 1998 and May 1999.

Results Awareness of the role of folate in the prevention of birth defects rose by 8% in the first 6 months of the campaign (without health claims) and by 15% in the second half (when health claims were incorporated). Awareness of the recommendation to take folate before pregnancy rose from 21% …