Mb. Mazis et Ma. Raymond, CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH CLAIMS IN ADVERTISEMENTS AND ON FOOD LABELS, The Journal of consumer affairs, 31(1), 1997, pp. 10-26
It has been hypothesized that consumers are more skeptical of health c
laims made in food ads than of health claims made on food labels. Ther
efore, the current research explores consumers' skepticism of health c
laims when the source of such claims is identified as a food ad or a f
ood label. The study also examines whether consumers' beliefs are affe
cted by nutrition information on food labels and whether health claims
that have been challenged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and b
y consumer groups are more likely to affect consumers' beliefs than ar
e unchallenged health claims. The findings have implications for under
standing the role of education in reducing consumer misperceptions of
health claims.