Using tasks to measure consumers' ability to apply food guide recommendations: Lessons learned

This article reports on lessons learned from using comparison and substitut ion tasks to assess consumers' ability to apply food guide messages. The st udy evaluated the usability of the Northeast Regional Food Guide (NERFG), w hich provides instruction on healthful diets of local foods in season. The tasks showed that the NERFG is useful for daily life decisions. Lessons lea rned were that the scores on tasks need to better differentiate between gro ups. The validity and reliability of the tasks should be established in fut ure research. The use of tasks may also be appropriate for educational purp oses.