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A study of 150,000 new food and beverage products found health claims are inconsistent signals of nutrition.

Some claims come with trade-offs, such as more sugar in “low-sodium” beverages.

Shoppers can treat front-of-package claims as a hint and use the Nutrition Facts panel for the full picture.

These days, many food packages make a promise of nutrition: reduced fat, high fiber, whole grain, or non-GMO, to name a few. At first glance, these claims seem designed to help shoppers choose healthier options at the grocery store. But new Cornell research suggests they are a less reliable guide for better nutrition than many people assume.

In a new analysis published in Nature Food, Cornell food marketing researchers Pei Zhou, Miguel Gómez, and Harry Kaiser examined nearly 150,000 packaged food and beverage products launched in the United States between 2015 and 2024. Yuqing Zheng, an agricultural economist at the University of Kentucky, also contributed to the study.

4 Types of Food Package Claims

The research team grouped printed claims into four categories:

Minus: promises reduced levels of nutrients we should limit, such as lower sodium

Plus: promises added or increased beneficial nutrients, such as more fiber

Natural: indicates the food's production........

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