WASHINGTON, D.C. |
March 3, 2014
Facts Up Front Launches Consumer Education Campaign to Drive Awareness and Increase Nutrition Knowledge
Grocery decision makers agree Facts Up Front makes nutrition information easy to find and use
The Consumer Brands Association and
the Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
today unveiled its national consumer
education campaign to bolster
awareness and understanding of Facts
Up Front. The nutrient-based
labeling system will be supported by
a national advertising campaign to
further educate consumers on the
initiative and help them make
informed food decisions for their
families.
Facts Up Front labels bring
important information from the
Nutrition Facts Panel, found on the
back and side of packages, and
displays it in a simple and
easy-to-use format on the front of
America’s favorite food and
beverage products.
“A recent literature review by
the FDA tells us that
front-of-package labels are most
effective when reinforced by an
education program,” said
Pamela G. Bailey, president and CEO
of the Consumer Brands Association.
“With more than 50 companies
voluntarily implementing Facts Up
Front on their branded and private
label products, it’s important
for shoppers to know this tool is
out there and that they understand
how to use it. With Facts Up Front,
we’re simplifying nutrition so
everyone has the essential
information needed to help build
more healthful diets.”
According to a recent online survey,
conducted by Harris Poll on behalf
of Consumer Brands Association, more
than nine in 10 grocery shopping
decision makers agree that Facts Up
Front makes nutrition information
easy to find and use (93%), and that
it is simple to understand (92%).
The education campaign will reach
more consumers to build awareness of
the label and help enhance their
nutrition knowledge and ability to
use Facts Up Front most
effectively. Facts Up Front
advertising can be seen now across a
variety of print and digital media
through October 2014.
FMI President and CEO Leslie G.
Sarasin remarked, “Our
research tells us that more than
two-thirds of shoppers read food
labels, looking for information
related to sodium content, sugar,
fat and calories. Food retailers
listen to their customers and the
Facts Up Front Program gives these
shoppers the information
they’re looking for in a
convenient, easily accessible
format.”
To complement the advertising
efforts, the campaign also includes
an online toolkit to help retailers
communicate Facts Up Front in stores
– the place where most
purchase decisions are made. All
print, digital and in-store
communications direct consumers to
the Facts Up Front website (www.FactsUpFront.org), available in both English and
Spanish and optimized for mobile
devices.
FactsUpFront.org
provides tools and resources that
give visitors relevant nutrition
information, including a Nutrition
Calculator to determine specific
calorie and nutrient needs, and also
an Interactive Label that explains
the nutrients featured in Facts Up
Front, how they impact health and
common sources of each.
“The tools and information the
Facts Up Front program provides can
help parents build better diets for
themselves and their families, while
also teaching children behaviors
they will carry on with them for a
lifetime,” said Robert Murray,
MD, former chair of the American
Academy of Pediatrics Council on
School Health and a professor in the
Department of Human Nutrition at the
Ohio State University.
“Parents need to set the stage
for their children, so that they
have the chance to live long,
healthy lives free of weight issues
and preventable chronic
diseases.”
The basic Facts Up Front label lists
calories and information about
saturated fat, sodium and sugar per
serving – nutrients the
government’s Dietary
Guidelines for Americans recommend
limiting. Additionally,
manufacturers may also include
information on one or two nutrients
to encourage – potassium,
fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin
C, vitamin D, calcium and iron.
Facts Up Front was developed in
response to First Lady Michelle
Obama’s call on the food and
beverage industry to provide new
tools for helping Americans
construct a healthier diet. Today,
numerous manufacturers, retailers
and wholesalers are voluntarily
implementing Facts Up Front on their
branded and private label
products.
Facts Up Front is advised by a
diverse advisory panel of external
third-party experts from health,
nutrition and medical backgrounds.
It is grounded in sound science and
research on consumer messaging about
nutrition, including the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, and has
been designed to be flexible to
accommodate changes to federal
guidelines and regulations,
including the Nutrition Facts
panel.
Click here to see Facts Up Front print "Awareness" ads.
Click here to see Facts Up Front print "Education" ads.
###
About Consumer Brands
Association
Based in Washington, D.C., the
Consumer Brands Association is the
voice of more than 300 leading food,
beverage and consumer product
companies that sustain and enhance
the quality of life for hundreds of
millions of people in the United
States and around the globe. Founded
in 1908, Consumer Brands Association
is an active, vocal advocate for its
member companies and a trusted
source of information about the
industry and the products consumers
rely on and enjoy every day.
The association and its member
companies are committed to meeting
the needs of consumers through
product innovation, responsible
business practices and effective
public policy solutions developed
through a genuine partnership with
policymakers and other stakeholders.
In keeping with its founding
principles, Consumer Brands
Association helps its members
produce safe products through a
strong and ongoing commitment to
scientific research, testing and
evaluation and to providing
consumers with the products, tools
and information they need to achieve
a healthy diet and an active
lifestyle. The food, beverage
and consumer packaged goods industry
in the United States generates sales
of $2.1 trillion annually, employs
14 million workers and contributes
$1 trillion in added value to the
economy every year.
consumerbrandsassociation.org
About FMI
Food Marketing Institute proudly
advocates on behalf of the food
retail industry. FMI’s U.S.
members operate nearly 40,000 retail
food stores and 25,000 pharmacies,
representing a combined annual sales
volume of almost $770 billion.
Through programs in public affairs,
food safety, research, education and
industry relations, FMI offers
resources and provides valuable
benefits to more than 1,225 food
retail and wholesale member
companies in the United States and
around the world. FMI membership
covers the spectrum of diverse
venues where food is sold, including
single owner grocery stores, large
multi-store supermarket chains and
mixed retail stores. For more
information, visit www.fmi.org and
for information regarding the FMI
foundation, visit
www.fmifoundation.org.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online
within the United States between
February 3 and 5, 2014 among 2,035
adults aged 18 and older by Harris
Poll on behalf of Consumer Brands
Association via its Quick Query
omnibus product. Data reported
is among a subset of adults who are
grocery shopping decision makers
(n=1,740). Figures for age, sex,
race/ethnicity, education, region
and household income were weighted
where necessary to bring them into
line with their actual proportions
in the population. Propensity score
weighting was used to adjust for
respondents’ propensity to be
online.
All sample surveys and polls,
whether or not they use probability
sampling, are subject to multiple
sources of error which are most
often not possible to quantify or
estimate, including sampling error,
coverage error, error associated
with nonresponse, error associated
with question wording and response
options, and post-survey weighting
and adjustments. Therefore, the
words “margin of error”
are avoided as they are misleading.
All that can be calculated are
different possible sampling errors
with different probabilities for
pure, unweighted, random samples
with 100% response rates. These are
only theoretical because no
published polls come close to this
ideal.
Respondents for this survey were
selected from among those who have
agreed to participate in our
surveys. The data have been weighted
to reflect the composition of the
adult population. Because the sample
is based on those who agreed to
participate in the online panel, no
estimates of theoretical sampling
error can be calculated.
About Nielsen & The Harris
Poll
On February 3, 2014, Nielsen
acquired Harris Interactive and The
Harris Poll. Nielsen Holdings
N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global
information and measurement company
with leading market positions in
marketing and consumer information,
television and other media
measurement, online intelligence and
mobile measurement. Nielsen has a
presence in approximately 100
countries, with headquarters in New
York, USA and Diemen, the
Netherlands. For more information,
visit www.nielsen.com.