Analysis of more than 22,000 products in the online stores of Coles and Woolworths found nearly all lacked crucial product information, including ingredient lists and allergy warnings. The study was done by researchers at The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW Medicine & Health.
According to the researchers, the study – published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity – is the first to assess the completeness of food labelling in online supermarkets in Australia.
Food labelling is mandatory for physical products with Nutrition information panels (NIPs), ingredient lists, and allergen declarations required under Food Standards Australia New Zealand. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also requires country-of-origin labelling while Health Star Ratings (HSRs) are optional.
The research team said their findings show the need to include the same settings online because currently, online stores are not explicitly obligated to meet any labelling standards despite considerable growth in the market.
Damian Maganja, lead author of the study and a PhD candidate in food policy at The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW Medicine & Health said it’s not surprising there is a “huge gap” between instore, where a customer can pick up the product and read the label and online information.
“[It] might not be deliberate or malicious, but it does fail to help people with choosing products that meet their dietary or health needs,” Maganja said.
It is also about more than choice, he said, with a lack of information posing “potentially significant” concerns.
“Ingredients and allergen information are critical to protect consumers with allergies, while NIPs and HSRs are also crucial tools to contribute towards reducing the risk of major chronic diseases like heart attacks and diabetes,” he said.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Food & Drink Business the study failed to consider aspects of its online shop.
“This study looked at whether the product pages on our website contained certain information, however it did not take into account the product images, which in many cases display information such as ingredients, allergens, nutrition information and Health Star Rating.
“Our website also includes product filters for allergens and dietary requirements to make it easier for customers to find the products that are suitable for them,” Woolworths said.
They added the company was a long-time advocate for the Health Star Rating system and display it on-pack for all of its intended own brand products.
“We also encourage suppliers to provide their product data to allow for it to be shown on the Woolworths website and app, including nutrition information, ingredients, allergens, Country of Origin and Health Star Rating,” they said.
Findings
The study analysed online food products from April to May 2022. Around half the products had allergen labelling (53 per cent) and NIPs (49 per cent), while just over a third (34 per cent) had ingredients listed.
It found country-of-origin labelling – a more recent requirement – was comprehensive, appearing on 93 per cent of food product pages.
HSRs appeared on only 14 per cent of products across both supermarkets. Where the product had a higher HSR rating, the more likely the rating would be listed; 22 per cent of products with a 3.5 or higher rating, had the rating listed, compared to 0.4 per cent for products with a less than 3.5-star rating.
The researchers also inspected 100 randomly selected product pages to look at the how easy it was to find information.
It found Coles almost always made NIPs, ingredients, and allergen information immediately visible, but in the Woolworths sample group, NIPs were displayed immediately only two per cent of the time, while ingredients were shown 19 per cent and none showed allergens.
With HSRs, 22 per cent were visible on Coles’ site compared to 75 per cent on Woolworths.
Maganja said, “Food product labelling has the potential to promote healthier dietary patterns by helping consumers make informed decisions about the food they buy. It’s not much use if that information isn’t easily visible, or available at all, before the point of sale online.”
Woolworths said, “We note that this data was collected over a year ago, so it won’t have captured the additional improvements we’ve continued to make to online product information across our range.”
Need for explicit rules
The researchers said a lack of explicit rules regarding product information in online retail settings results in inconsistent labelling and undermines consumer choice.
Maganja said, “While both major supermarkets can do better on their own, consistent and explicit government-mandated standards will better ensure the entire retail sector is focussed on providing shoppers with the information they need before they spend their money.”
“Online shopping has come a long way in recent years, and we are continuing to look for ways to help make healthier choices easier for our customers however they shop with us,” the Woolworths spokesperson said.
Maganja acknowledged the retailers were both working to improve online labelling, but said, “it would be ideal if we could get a clear commitment and timeframe for this”.
“The most effective way to ensure progress in food labelling practices online would be to explicitly extend the regulations that govern physical products to all online retailers that sell food products, including third-party aggregators and delivery services.
“The guiding principles should remain the same regardless of whether the product is sold in-store or online. That is – information about a food product should be available to consumers before purchase and displayed prominently and visibly,” he said.
A Coles spokesperson told Food & Drink Business, “At Coles, we’re committed to providing information to help customers make informed purchasing decisions, including having relevant product information available online.
“Our team works closely with our suppliers to build on this information. Nevertheless, we encourage customers to always read the label on the product. We welcome ongoing feedback from our customers to help us provide the best information.”
