Current food labelling practices in online supermarkets in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Food product labelling can support consumer decision-making. Several food product labels (nutrition information panels (NIPs), ingredients lists, allergen declarations and country-of-origin) are mandated for physical product packaging in Australia, with a voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labelling system, Health Star Ratings (HSRs), also available. However, labelling requirements are not explicitly extended to online settings and the extent to which this information is available in these increasingly important food environments has not been assessed. METHODS: Data from all individual food product pages was collected from the online stores of the two dominant supermarket retailers in Australia using automated web scraping in April-May 2022 (n = 22,077 products collected). We assessed the proportion of pages displaying NIPs, ingredients, allergens, country-of-origin and HSRs after excluding products ineligible to display the respective label. We also assessed whether HSRs were differentially available for higher- (healthier) and lower-scoring (less healthy) products, with HSR scores drawn from a comprehensive Australian food composition database, FoodSwitch. A manual inspection of randomly selected product pages (n = 100 for each label type per supermarket), drawn from products displaying the relevant label, was conducted to assess whether the labels were immediately visible to users (i.e. without scrolling or clicking). Differences in labelling prevalence and visibility were compared using chi-squared tests. RESULTS: Across both supermarkets, country-of-origin labelling was almost complete (displayed on 93% of food product pages), but NIPs (49%), ingredients (34%) and allergens (53%) were less frequently displayed. HSRs were infrequently displayed (14% across both supermarkets) and more likely to be applied to higher-scoring products (22% on products with ≥ 3.5HSR v 0.4% on products with < 3.5HSR, p < 0.001). One supermarket was far more likely to make NIPs (100% v 2%, p < 0.001), ingredients (100% v 19%, p < 0.001) and allergens (97% v 0%, p < 0.001) information immediately visible, though the other made HSRs more apparent (22% v 75%, p < 0.001). Both supermarkets displayed country-of-origin labels prominently (100% v 86%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Food product labelling varies in online supermarkets in Australia overall and between supermarkets, while the design of online stores resulted in differences in labelling visibility. The near-complete display of country-of-origin labels and differential application of HSRs to higher-scoring products may reflect their use as marketing tools. Our findings highlight an urgent need for food labelling regulations to be updated to better account for online retail food environments.

A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of the Food Environment at an Australian University Campus.

University food environments have a strong influence on the dietary choices of students and staff. The aim of this study was to assess the food environment at a large university in Sydney, Australia. Data were collected between March and July 2022 from 27 fixed food outlets and 24 vending machines. The healthiness of the food environment was evaluated using the Healthy Food and Drink in NSW Health Facilities for Staff and Visitors Framework ('Framework'), which assesses food environment parameters including the availability, placement, and promotion of 'Everyday' (healthy) and 'Occasional' (less healthy) products. Each parameter was evaluated overall and across each food outlet type. Across all outlets, Everyday foods and drinks made up 43.9% of all products. Only two outlets met the Framework's product availability benchmark of ≥75% Everyday foods and drinks. A total of 43 outlets (84.3%) sold sugary drinks as part of their product range. Occasional products made up 68.4%, 53.3%, and 59.9% of all items for sale at checkout areas, countertops, and eye-level shelves, respectively. Finally, 79.7% of meal deals included Occasional products. Our findings highlight the need to improve the availability, placement, and promotion of foods and drinks sold at a major university campus in Sydney, Australia.

The Effect of Broccoli Sprout Extract on Seasonal Grass Pollen-Induced Allergic Rhinitis.

Patients exposed to pollutants are more likely to suffer from allergic rhinitis and may benefit from antioxidant treatment. Our study determined if patients diagnosed with grass-induced allergic rhinitis could benefit from broccoli sprout extract (BSE) supplementation. In total, 47 patients were confirmed with grass-induced allergic rhinitis and randomized to one of four groups: group 1 (nasal steroid spray + BSE), group 2 (nasal steroid spray + placebo tablet), group 3 (saline nasal spray + BSE) and group 4 (saline nasal spray + placebo tablet). Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow (PNIF), Total Nasal Symptoms Scores (TNSS) and nasal mucus cytokine levels were analyzed in samples collected before and after the 3-week intervention. Comparing before and after the intervention, PNIF improved significantly when comparing Groups 1 and 2, vs. placebo, at various time points (p ≤ 0.05 at 5, 15, 60 and 240 min) following nasal challenge, while TNSS was only statistically significant at 5 (p = 0.03), 15 (p = 0.057) and 30 (p = 0.05) minutes. There were no statistically significant differences in various cytokine markers before and after the intervention. Combining nasal corticosteroid with BSE led to the most significant improvement in objective measures.