Consistency of Nutritional Information Given on Packaged Products and Websites: Chocolate as an Example

Abstract

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the consistency of nutrients and ingredients information given in product packaging and web pages of some chocolate products sold in supermarkets.

Materials and Methods: Total of the 88 chocolate products were found to be marketed in three different supermarkets in the Çankaya district of Ankara only 49 chocolate products were determined, containing nutrition information both on the package and web page and nutrition information of total fat and saturated fat, sugar and sugar, carbohydrate, protein, salt, energy, fiber contents per 100 grams were compared for consistency.

Results: It was found that 75.5% of the chocolate products had nutrient information on the package and 44.8% had on the website And 93.8% of the products had ingredients information on the package and 28.5% on the website. 100 grams of products contained an average of 31.8±3.76 g total fat and 542.7±27.40 kcal energy. The contents of the nutrient given in the packages and websites of the products are different and the difference was found to be statistically significant (p <0.05).

Conclusion: Nutrition information given on the package and web pages of the chocolate products were examined for consistency using Spearman correlation but none of the product had correlation coefficient of “R=1”. According to the labeling regulation, the nutritional content of all packaged foods should be specified and nutriton information of the products on packages and websites should be consistent.