Research explores the positives and negatives of food labels

Customers in grocery stores are inundated with labels such as organic and fair-trade. Labels such as these may be eye-catching but are often free of any scientific basis and stigmatize many healthy foods, researchers found.
By reviewing over 90 academic studies, they found that while these labels satisfy consumer demand for quality assurances and can create value for both consumers and producers, misinterpretation is common and can stigmatize food produced by conventional processes even when there is no scientific evidence those foods cause harm. An article about the research is published in Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy (News Item University of Delaware, 19 October 2017).
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