Color Correct: the Interactive Effects of Food Label Coloring and Food type on Health Perceptions

The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of food label coloring in interaction with food types (healthy and unhealthy) on consumer food healthiness perceptions. The theories of heuristic processing, color attention, color association and approach-avoidance are evoked to explain underlying processes. A 2 (food-type: healthy vs. unhealthy) X 3 (color: green healthy nutrients vs. green unhealthy nutrients vs. no color) between subjects design was used to test the hypotheses. Findings suggest that for healthy foods, the effect of coloring reduced perceived healthiness but for unhealthy foods, perceived healthiness did not increase as a result of coloring.