Influence of front-of-pack nutrition warning labels on the purchase decision of fried foods and processed foods in students of the Universidad Católica Luis Amigó Medellín campus

Abstract

The practice of consuming fried and processed foods with excessive amounts of critical nutrients such as trans fats, added sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and sweeteners has been a constant concern for public health entities and organizations in Latin American countries. Therefore, governments have implemented different strategies such as front-of-package warnings to inform consumers about the intake of trans fats, added sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and sweeteners. This research focuses on analyzing the influence of octagonal front-of-package warnings on the purchasing decision of fried and processed foods among students at the Universidad Católica Luis Amigó Medellín campus. A qualitative approach is used with a descriptive research type and a non-probabilistic accidental sampling, using the survey as a research technique to understand how these warnings influence consumer purchasing decisions. One of the main findings is that 59.8% of consumers pay more attention to the octagonal front-of-package warnings on snacks compared to other categories. In addition, if the product has more than three octagonal front-of-package warnings, 38.6% of respondents say they are very unlikely to buy it.