Independent signpost evaluation study
At its meeting on 9 March 2006, the Agency's Board agreed that it would be important to assess independently the impact of its recommended approach to front-of-pack (FOP) signpost labelling, and other FOP key nutrient schemes that are in use, on consumer behaviour.
Industry expressed a willingness to work in a constructive manner with the Agency to carry out a study to learn together what works best for consumers.
A meeting with key stakeholders was held on 8 May 2006 at which the objectives of the evaluation, the type of research and the mechanism for managing the research were discussed. This was considered further at the Nutrition Strategy Steering Group (NSSG) meeting on 18 July 2006 where it was agreed that the research objective should be: 'to evaluate the impact of front-of-pack labelling schemes on purchasing behaviour and consumer knowledge'.
This project was directed by a small independent management panel (the Project Management Panel) comprising representatives with expertise in market research, nutrition and social science. It was assisted in its work by a larger Advisory Group (AG).
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Project Management Panel (PMP)
The PMP independently manages the project to evaluate the three main front-of-pack signposting schemes currently operating in the UK. In particular, they focus on the effect these labelling schemes have on consumer knowledge and behaviour.