Uruguayan Citizens' Perception of Messages to Promote Healthy Eating Through the Use of Nutritional Warnings.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the specific type of messages people consider most appropriate for a mass communication campaign aimed to promote healthy eating in the context of the implementation of nutritional warnings. DESIGN: Online study including multiple-choice and open-ended questions. SETTING: Uruguay, 1 of the Latin American countries with the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 859 participants were recruited using social media. They were diverse in terms of gender, age, educational level, socioeconomic status, and self-reported body mass index. PHENOMENON OF INTEREST: Participants were presented with 3 series of messages and were asked to select the 1 they perceived as the most appropriate and to provide a brief explanation for their selection. ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics for the multiple-choice questions and inductive coding for the responses to the open-ended questions. RESULTS: Participants tended to prefer messages that conveyed a cue to action for achieving changes to their perceived ability to make healthful food choices. Although messages related to the promotion of informed food choices were the most frequently preferred, messages related to negative health consequences and health benefits were also selected repetitively. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Communication campaigns aimed at promoting healthy eating through the use of nutritional warnings could include different contents to target specific segments with different motivations.

Sensory characterization of the astringency of commercial Uruguayan Tannat wines.

Astringency is one of the most important characteristics that define the quality of red wine, and is of particular relevance for Tannat, Uruguayan emblematic red wine variety. Astringency is a time-dependant and complex sensory characteristic, related to several sensations, or sub-qualities, that can be simultaneously perceived. The aim of the present study was to obtain a sensory characterization of the astringency of commercial Uruguayan Tannat wines. Forty samples with different characteristics in terms of vintage, price segment and aging in oak barrels were assessed by a panel of 9 trained assessors. Total astringency intensity was evaluated using time-intensity (TI), while astringency sub-qualities were described using a check-all-that-apply (CATA) question composed of sixteen terms. TI and the CATA question provided different information on the astringency of Tannat wines. Regarding global astringency, samples mainly differed in intensity-related parameters rather than in the development of astringency over time, although the variability was moderate. A wide range of sub-qualities, from silky and velvety to harsh and aggressive were used to describe the astringency of the evaluated wines. Four groups of samples with different astringency characteristics were identified, but this sorting was not related to vintage, price segment or aging in oak barrels. Further research is necessary to better understand how astringency characteristics are influenced by production variables, and to understand their relationship to consumers' and experts' perceived quality of Tannat wines.

Influence of Label Design on Children's Perception of 2 Snack Foods.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of label design on children's perception of 2 popular snack foods across 3 income levels. DESIGN: Labels of 2 snack products (yogurt and sponge cake) were designed using a fractional factorial design with 3 2-level variables: cartoon character, nutrition claims, and front-of-package nutritional information. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 221 children (aged 9-13 years) from Montevideo, Uruguay, with different income levels, participated in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Children's attitude toward and liking of 2 food products. RESULTS: Low-income children showed a more positive attitude toward the products than did middle- and high-income children. The inclusion of a cartoon character in sponge cake labels significantly affected hedonic expectations regardless of income. Middle- and high-income children tended to use the term funny more frequently and the term boring less frequently to describe labels that included the cartoon character, compared with those that did not. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Results showed that the inclusion of cartoon characters on food labels is associated with fun. Low-income children seem more susceptible to the marketing strategies of food companies than do middle- and high-income children.

Consumers' conceptualization of ultra-processed foods.

Consumption of ultra-processed foods has been associated with low diet quality, obesity and other non-communicable diseases. This situation makes it necessary to develop educational campaigns to discourage consumers from substituting meals based on unprocessed or minimally processed foods by ultra-processed foods. In this context, the aim of the present work was to investigate how consumers conceptualize the term ultra-processed foods and to evaluate if the foods they perceive as ultra-processed are in concordance with the products included in the NOVA classification system. An online study was carried out with 2381 participants. They were asked to explain what they understood by ultra-processed foods and to list foods that can be considered ultra-processed. Responses were analysed using inductive coding. The great majority of the participants was able to provide an explanation of what ultra-processed foods are, which was similar to the definition described in the literature. Most of the participants described ultra-processed foods as highly processed products that usually contain additives and other artificial ingredients, stressing that they have low nutritional quality and are unhealthful. The most relevant products for consumers' conceptualization of the term were in agreement with the NOVA classification system and included processed meats, soft drinks, snacks, burgers, powdered and packaged soups and noodles. However, some of the participants perceived processed foods, culinary ingredients and even some minimally processed foods as ultra-processed. This suggests that in order to accurately convey their message, educational campaigns aimed at discouraging consumers from consuming ultra-processed foods should include a clear definition of the term and describe some of their specific characteristics, such as the type of ingredients included in their formulation and their nutritional composition.