Biological Times

One of my review article was published in “Biological Times” that is a magazine related to scientific data publishing from different researchers and students. So, a joint collaboration of Hafiz Mustafa Saeed, Areeb Hussain and Haram Mehmood, resulted in successful publication that was related to food labels. You can freely access our review article following the link below:

Visual Dominance on Food Labels: A Policy Call for Simplified and
Healthier Choices

Food labels are the first impression of the food product, so we can’t underestimate the importance of food labels. There is always a debate on the constituents or layout of the food labels. The importance of nutritional information on food labels as a necessary component can’t be neglected. Still, most food labels cannot deliver their message to consumers due to nutritional literacy, demographics, and cognitive pressure. This gap has paved the way for visual labels that are appealing and easy to understand, adding a convenient way to deliver. This review article discusses the importance of both visual and textual labels with the motive to adopt a balanced approach in food labeling. Different studies have shown that visual labels containing warning symbols, color coding systems, and visual representation of textures help in quicker processing attraction and are also less hectic, putting less cognitive load than the heavy text labels that are technical and require more time to process with prior food knowledge. This review has also discussed the emotional link between consumer product choices and personal health concerns. The main challenge experienced by the food labels is consumer literacy, which is somehow linked to demographics like low-income consumer groups or underdeveloped communities, making it difficult to prioritize health due to availability and literacy issues. This review also discusses how visual labels are well adapted to modern human psychology, where humans prefer immediate decisions rather than analytical information processing on food labels. This review suggests that visual labels must consider transparency, clarity, and visual appeal to target a wide range of consumers. The visually driven labeling practices can bridge healthier food choices and consumer understanding, contributing to better consumer purchasing behavior. This review article also suggests a new food labeling technique, calling on the researchers to check the implications.