Awareness, Comprehension, and Use of Newly-Mandated Nutrition Labels among Mestiza and Indigenous Ecuadorian Women in the Central Andes Region of Ecuador

Background: In 2014, Ecuador became the first country in Latin America to adopt the nutritional traffic light labeling system as a public policy aimed at guiding informed food choices. Objective: To describe the differences in comprehension and use of the new nutrition label in 2 different ethnic populations residing in a limited resource area of central Ecuador. Methods: A total of 394 women (18-75 years, 54.8% indigenous and 45.2% mixed-race mestizas) were randomly selected in the Chimborazo Province and were requested by a questionnaire to provide information regarding their awareness and comprehension of the traffic light nutritional labeling system and personal use of the food label in food selection. Results: Indigenous women had a high percentage who lacked any formal education (43.5%) and a greater proportion were not aware of the labeling system when compared with the mestizas (84.3% vs 46%; P =.001). In both groups, the main reason for not reading labels was lack of understanding of its meaning (50% indigenous vs 32.7% mestiza; P <.05). The reported use of the labeling system for food choices was low - on average, 32% of the mestizas and 5% of the indigenous women reported using nutrition label information to guide their purchase and consumption of packaged food items. Conclusion: The use of nutritional labeling is low in both mestiza and indigenous Ecuadorians, although higher among the mestizas. Among the indigenous women, mostly likely owing to less education, limited nutrition-related health knowledge, and higher risk for food insecurity, the utility of the new traffic light food label is limited.