Rapid Fire Oral Presentation 49th Nutrition Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2025

Serving sizes and portion-control visual cues on packaged snacks – An audit study in Australian supermarkets (130005)

Monica Qingzhou Liu 1 , Carla Azzi 1 , Gabrielle De Leeuw 1 , Rebecca Flemming 1 , Yan Luo 1 , Hannah Ross-Smith 1 , Hannah Tai 1 , Jacqueline Tan 1 , Cheuk Wa Wong 1 , Cindy Yang 1 , Anna Rangan 1
  1. Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, , The University of Sydney, Sydney

The high prevalence of obesity, combined with the wide availability of large serving sizes of energy-dense and nutrient-poor discretionary foods, highlights the need for effective interventions. Emerging evidence has demonstrated the impacts of on-pack visual cues on portion size selection and subsequent food intake (1). For instance, transparent packaging and on-pack food imagery are powerful cues that attract consumers’ attention and drive purchase intentions (2). Exaggerated on-pack food images, larger than the suggested serving size stated on the nutrition information panel, have been associated with increased consumption (3). Partitioning and resealability show promise in supporting better portion control (4). However, there is limited research assessing the presence of visual cues on discretionary food packaging. This audit study aimed to identify on-pack visual cues that serve as portion size indicators in share-packs of discretionary snack foods in Australian supermarkets. On-pack nutritional information and visual cues were collected for six categories of common snack foods, including ice-cream, chocolate, lollies, sweet biscuits, savoury biscuits, and crisps. Data were collected from major Australian supermarket chains via online website search and in-person visits between 2022 and 2024. Visual cues of interest were classified into two groups; ‘indicators promoting intake’ (including exaggerated front-of-pack images and package transparency), and ‘indicators supporting portion control’ (including the presence of front-of-pack serving size suggestions, resealability, and partitioning). A total of 1372 share-packs were recorded and analysed. The majority of share-packs included a front-of-pack image (84%) with these images being exaggerated in approximately half of these products, predominantly in lollies (71%) and chocolate (61%). Package transparency was featured on one-fifth of share-packs and more frequently observed in lollies (54%) and savoury biscuits (34%). In contrast, indicators supporting portion control were minimal, with front-of-pack serving size suggestions present on 16% of packs. Resealability and partitioning were present in few food categories; for example, 60% of chocolates featured resealable packaging or partitioning. These features were less common in lollies, sweet biscuits, and crisps (<15%).  In conclusion, the findings indicated that visual cues on discretionary food packaging were more commonly used to promote intake rather than to support portion control. Future efforts should focus on developing consistent, practical on-pack visual cues, and establishing clear guidance to promote appropriate portion size selection of discretionary foods.

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