The design of printed labels may be vital as consumers are only looking at them for a short time.
Manufacturers may be prompted to change the designs on their printed labels after a study presented some interesting findings on shopping habits.
The Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life (Flabel) project in Denmark showed that average attention times to parts of packaging range from just 25 to 100 milliseconds.
This is despite consumers claiming they prefer peelable labels that provide complete information, HealthCanal.com reports.
Professor Klaus Grunert, one of the researchers, said this shows "the most promising option for increasing consumers' attention … is to provide information on key nutrients and energy on the front of the pack in a consistent way".
He also suggested using a health logo and colour coding to increase attention spans.
Interestingly, although shoppers said they were able identify healthy products from the packaging, this did not influence which product they preferred.
Sue Dengate from the Food Intolerance Network recently told the Sydney Morning Herald she finds that people often struggle to understand terms such as 'antioxidant' and 'no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives'.
Denny Bros Ltd, Friday 25 November
