Effect of traffic-light labeling on nutritional content and on consumption of carbonated beverages in Ecuador

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the effect of “traffic-light” nutritional labeling on the purchase of soft drinks and on their nutritional content in Ecuador. Methods. Two databases were used: the first was provided by Ecuador's National Agency for Health Regulation, Control, and Surveillance; the second was obtained from the international market research company Kantar World Panel. A before/after study was conducted of introducing traffic-light labeling, using Student's t-tests to evaluate changes in average nutritional content and the purchase of soft drinks. Multiple linear regression methods were used to evaluate changes in purchases resulting from the introduction of traffic-light labeling. Results. After labeling, average per capita consumption of soft drinks declined by 0.003 L/month-a small change with respect to average per capita consumption of 1.678 L/month. The results of the Student's t-tests indicated that this difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the regression analyses found no empirical evidence that traffic-light labeling affected soft drink consumption. With regard to sugar content, an average reduction of 0.93 gm/100 ml of beverage was observed. Conclusions. No empirical evidence was found that implementation of traffic-light labeling changed soft-drink purchase habits in Ecuador, but there is evidence that it reduced sugar content in carbonated beverages in the country.