Which front-of-pack nutrition label is the most efficient one? The results of an eye-tracker study

• Traffic light (TL) labels are more efficiently processed than GDA labels.
• GDA labels require more time compared with traffic light labels or nutrition tables.
• TL label is a consumer-friendly way of communicating nutrition information.

Different labeling systems that should help consumers make more balanced food decisions have been proposed and are currently in use. In the present study, the effectiveness of three different formats, the nutrition table format, the guideline daily amounts (GDAs) format, and the traffic light (TL) format, was examined. The eye-tracking method was combined with an experimental approach. The participants (N = 98) were randomly assigned to one of the three formats, and they were asked to evaluate the healthiness of five foods from different food categories. The eye-tracking data suggest that the participants needed more time to process the GDA format in comparison to the traffic light format and the nutrition table format. Moreover, the participants processed the traffic light format more efficiently than the nutrition table. In regard to information processing, the traffic light format was better than the other two formats. The participants were asked how they perceived the healthiness of the food products. The GDA, the TL and the nutrition table formats did not result in substantially different evaluations of the products. From an information processing perspective, the TL format has advantages over the other two formats. The TL format is a consumer-friendly way of communicating nutrition information.