Key facts
- Study
- UC Davis researchers analyzed 54 avocado-oil products
- Adulteration rate
- 89% of products appeared adulterated with other oils
- Worst case
- One product appeared to have no avocado oil at all
- Regulatory concern
- Mislabeling could violate federal food-labeling rules
- Expert
- Marion Nestle, emerita professor at New York University
Background
A new study by researchers at UC Davis suggests that a bunch of avocado-oil products have false claims on their packaging. The researchers did a chemical analysis of 54 products that listed avocado oil as their only oil ingredient, including avocado-oil potato chips, salad dressing, and mayonnaise.
The researchers found that, despite being labeled as containing only that pure, uncut avocado oil, a whopping 89% of the products they tested appeared to be adulterated with other oils. One avocado-oil product appeared to have no avocado oil at all, according to one of the researchers.
This is one of the more egregious recent examples of food mislabeling. If a product lists avocado oil as its only oil ingredient but actually contains other oils, that could violate federal food-labeling rules. The study did not determine who introduced the other oils or whether the brands themselves knew about them.
Current situation
Companies don't have to literally lie on their ingredient lists to mislead consumers. They can nudge consumers into believing their products are healthier—and worth paying a premium price—by using buzzwords, clever packaging, and other marketing gimmicks. Some consumer advocates call this 'healthwashing.'
The economics of healthwashing starts with a simple reality: we often don't really know what's in the food products we're buying. Economists call this 'asymmetric information,' when one side of a transaction has less information than the other. It gives businesses more opportunities to mislead and overcharge consumers.
Behavioral economists call our tendency to make snap judgments based on marketing cues the 'health halo effect.' It's a cognitive bias where one healthy-sounding claim or visual can cast a halo over everything else, making us assume a product is healthier overall than it really is.
Impacts
Healthwashing isn't just about persuasion; it may also be part of a pricing strategy. Some shoppers are willing to pay more for products than others. Labels like 'organic,' 'non-GMO,' and '100% avocado oil' may help companies appeal to customers with more disposable income and convince them to pay a premium, sometimes for products that aren't all that different from their cheaper counterparts.
When buyers can't reliably tell high-quality products from low-quality ones, the low-quality products can actually drive the good ones out and wreck a whole market. This is known as 'adverse selection,' a concept from Nobel Prize-winning economist George Akerlof's paper 'The Market for Lemons.'
Consumers may be misled into paying more for products that are not healthier, and honest producers may be forced to compete against cheaper knockoffs that look just as good on the shelf.
Future outlook
Scenario analysis: The possibilities below are not certain predictions.
There is now a movement to make nutrition information much harder to miss. Under a proposed FDA rule, most packaged foods would have to carry a small box on the front labeling their levels of saturated fat, sodium and added sugar as 'Low,' 'Med' or 'High.' If adopted, this could help shoppers understand nutrition at a quick glance.
Several Latin American countries have gone further, requiring prominent warning symbols on products that are high in sugar, sodium, saturated fat or other ingredients of concern. Research shows that sales of foods with warning labels are down significantly, though it has been harder to show an effect on health.
If regulators implement front-of-package labels, consumers may be better equipped to avoid healthwashing. However, if such measures are not adopted, misleading marketing could continue. Experts suggest that reading ingredient lists and focusing on whole foods may help, but the future impact remains uncertain.
Source: wemu.org
