The purpose of this study was to develop a bilingual, user-friendly food la
bel (UFFL) for low-literacy audiences. The UFFL developed was based on (a)
a quantitative and qualitative needs assessment of Food and Drug Administra
tion (FDA) food label understanding and use, (b) the development of a UFFL,
and (c) a qualitative evaluation of the UFFL. Subjects consisted of a conv
enience sample (N = 150) of low-income Latino caretakers living in Hartford
with children under 6 years of age, who were recruited from local communit
y agencies. The primary outcomes measured in this study were food label use
, knowledge, and understanding. Chi-square analyses were conducted to deter
mine relationships between subjects' socioeconomic status and demographic c
haracteristics with food label use, knowledge, and understanding. Although
96% of respondents were familiar with the FDA food label, only 30% used it
routinely when grocery shopping. FDA food label knowledge was positively as
sociated (p less than or equal to .05) with younger age, level of education
, and being an English speaker. A UFFL was developed that included color co
ding, bilingual text, and a shaded Food Guide Pyramid. Results indicated th
at participants found the UFFL easy to understand. The UFFL can be used as
a nutrition education tool and the methodology developed may help food poli
cy makers to improve the nutrition education value of the FDA food label.