Table 1.

The articles included in the literature analysis and their main Claims.

Source	Year	Country	Method	Item Number	Main Claims
Marques da Rosa, Spence and Miletto Tonetto [23]	2019	Brazil	2 × 3 within-groups experimental design; 2 × 2 × 2 intra-groups experiment design	50 + 102	A buttered product was considered healthier in a round, red and yellow packaging The colour and shape of the packaging influence perceived healthiness
Pires, de Noronha and Trindade [24]	2019	Brazil	Online survey; focus groups	263 + 16	In the case of Bolognese sauce, consumers prefer less sodium to omega-3 content
Yarar, Machiels and Orth [25]	2019	Not indicated	One factorial between subject design	78 + 144	Consumers consider a product in packaging that resembles a slim human figure healthier, especially if they themselves do not have such a figure The shape of the packaging plays an important role in the perceived healthiness of the product
Machín et al. [26]	2018	Uruguay	shopping situation (on online surface)	1182	“FOP nutrition labelling schemes effectively improved the average healthfulness of food choice by respondents.” (p. 60) Health motivation can play a key role in the use of FOP (front of package) nutrition information
Hartmann et al. [27]	2018	UK, Sweden, Poland, France	Online survey	1950	Indicators of perceived healthiness: searching for information, knowledge on nutrition, and the health effects of the nutrients. There was a willingness to pay extra for “Free-from” products among those who look for information and prefer natural products.
Festila and Chrysochou [28]	2018	Denmark, United States	Content analysis	2545 products	The colour, shape, material of and the illustrations on the packaging differ between the products claimed healthy and those considered “normal” in general and also according to product category Products considered healthier appear on the market with lighter, matter or more balanced colours and in angular packaging in the examined countries
Polizer Rocha et al. [29]	2018	Brazil	Word association test, EsSense profile, attitudinal questionnaire	120	The biggest health advantage for consumers of frankfurters can be achieved through a decreased sodium- and fat content. Omega-3 and fibre source are less preferred features in this product
Wijayaratne et al. [30]	2018	Australia	Two stage online survey	756	Food-literacy has a positive effect on the attitudes of the “dietary-gatekeepers” consumer group towards healthy food Those with higher food-literacy are more confident in the preparation of a healthier diet
Lee et al. [31]	2018	Taiwan	Survey	122	Although a bio label influences perceived healthiness, it does not increase the consumption of such products among “health externals”
Vila-López and Küster-Boluda [32]	2018	Spain	Experimental sessions	300	Younger consumers are more influenced by aesthetic/commercial signs (colours) than by “technical cues” (healthy messages)
Lidón et al. [33]	2018	Spain	between-subjects experiment	147	Placing a picture suggesting healthiness on the packaging may increase willingness to purchase When perceiving a product, there is a strong positive relationship between healthiness and product quality
Acton and Hammond [34]	2018	Canada	Online survey	1000	A small group of the respondents (5–10%) said that the “high in…” caption in the front of the packaging (FOP) seemed harsh for them According to the majority of the respondents, FOP captions help to better control the choice of healthy food products
Carabante et al. [35]	2018	USA	Consumer test, questionnaire	150	Communicating the health benefits of the fat composition resulting from the diet of grass-fed beef increased overall liking and purchase intent “Health Benefit Information” (HBI) decreased the effect of juiciness and tenderness on overall liking
Miraballes and Gámbaro [36]	2018	Uruguay	Conjoint analysis	60 + 60	A product was considered healthier if, in addition to the caption communicating ingredients, there was also a picture/image on it
Wardy et al. [37]	2018	USA	Consumer testing	128	A 50% and/or 100% decrease of saccharose and the communication of this fact—displaying HBI- had a positive effect on the overall liking of the product
Benson et al. [38]	2018	Ireland	Survey	1039	Respondents rated the healthiness of the tested products the same regardless of the “nutrition and health claims”, there was no significant difference in their assessment
Shan et al. [39]	2017a	Republic of Ireland	Focus groups	40	The perception of consumers was influenced by the healthiness, taste, and prevalence of the product To make processed meat products healthier, participants would decrease the sodium- and fat content rather than add health-preserving ingredients
Shan et al. [40]	2017b	Republic of Ireland	Survey	481	Participants preferred enrichment with omega-3 to the non-enriched product, and the least preferred enriching ingredient was vitamin E.
Labbe et al. [41]	2017	Switzerland	Conjoint	57	The choice among frozen pre-packaged pizzas was more influenced by the expected taste experience than by perceived health effect and was not influenced by the expected feeling of being sated.
Prada et al. [42]	2017	Portugal	Survey	204 + 85	Products of organic origin were considered healthier, tastier and less energy-filled than their traditional counterparts-– “halo-effect” in case of bio food products
Tijssen et al. [43]	2017	Netherland	Experiment; Implicit Association Test (IAT)	148 + 140	Participants associated paler coloured packaging with health, whereas regular packaging was considered more striking Wrapping a ‘healthier’ product in warmer, fuller, pale coloured packaging improves sensory expectations, and can make the product more attractive
Marino et al. [44]	2017	Italy	Sensory analysis and consumer survey	8 + 250	When choosing healthy food products, the expected less good taste is the biggest obstacle for consumers not wanting to forgo good taste If the sensory features of a product are not appropriate, information on nutritional characteristics is not enough for the consumers to choose healthier alternatives
Cavallo and Piqueras-Fiszman [45]	2017	Italy, Netherlands	Consumer survey (online questionnaire)	214	Italian origin played the biggest role in the perceived healthiness of the examined product (olive oil) Having a bio origin positively influenced perceived healthiness For Dutch consumers, hot taste had a negative influence on perceived healthiness, whereas Italian consumers were not influenced by it In general, a darker glass bottle had a negative effect on the perceived healthiness of the examined product, with some exceptions: it had a positive influence on Italian consumers and on those for whom the origin of the product is important
Gineikiene, Kiudyte and Degutis [46]	2017	Lithuania	Survey; Structural equation modeling	295	Health-conscious consumers tend to disregard messages related to the health benefits of functional foods, and prefer bio food products In the case of functional, organic, and traditional products, scepticism towards health claims has a stronger negative effect on the perceived healthiness than the effect of health consciousness
Rebouças et al. [47]	2017	Brazil	Sensory evaluation	96	Information on the ingredients and nutritional values of cashew- and soy drinks and functional statements related to this information have a positive effect on consumers’ perception of healthiness and of nutritional values The extent of consumer attention paid to a healthy diet and food neophobia did not influence perceived healthiness of the product.
Tleis, Callieris and Roma [48]	2017	Lebanon	Face-to-face survey	320	Lebanese consumers purchase bio- products because they consider them healthier and safer
Brečić, Mesić, and Cerjak [49]	2017	Croatia	Face-to-face interviews	500	The dominant factor explaining 18.8% of the sample is “health and sensory characteristics”. The factor includes the sensory characteristics (taste, smell) of the product and its composition One segment is the “healthy and tasty food lovers” who are sensitive to the “inner” characteristics of the food: they are concerned about additives and artificial ingredients and prefer foods rich in vitamins and minerals
Thomson et al. [50]	2017	Melbourne, Shanghai, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore	Online survey	3951	there are differences in the perceived healthiness of a certain product between respondents from different countries sweetened, higher circulation products and children’s drinks were considered healthier in Vietnam, Shanghai and Indonesia than in Singapore and Melbourne
Apaolaza et al. [51]	2017	Spain	one-way between-groups experimental design	90	“the organic halo effect on hedonic evaluation and purchase intention was totally mediated by increases in sensory ratings and perceived healthiness, providing a process explanation for this effect” indicating the organic origin of the product significantly increased its perceived healthiness
Anders and Schroeter [52]	2017	Canada	Survey	8114	Taste, convenience and affordability are more important than information related to healthiness and the resulting benefits
Talati et al. [53].	2016	Australia	Survey	2058	Testing different FoP labels and their effect on perceived healthiness “daily intake guide” and “multiple traffic light” had a positive effect on the global perception of the product compared to when no FoP labels were used Nevertheless, FoP labels only had a weaker effect on perceived healthiness, but a bigger impact on global evaluations
Samoggia [54]	2016	Italy	Face-to-face survey	402	Health-oriented consumers are open to health-enhancing wine products, and their willingness to pay is also higher. Consumers of wine think that consumption of wine offers protection against hypertension and atherosclerosis. Consumers consider wine a healthy product
Seegebarth et al. [55]	2016	USA, Germany	Survey	206 + 240	American consumers appreciated the functional values provided by bio foods more than German consumers did. Moreover, American consumers purchase bio food because they consider them healthier and of better quality.
Puska & Luomala [56]	2016	Finland	Pilot test + online survey	17 + 1081	Respondents expect different health benefits from two products perceived equally healthy (“physical well-being, outward appearance, energy dimensions” vs. “emotional well-being, self-management and social responsibility”)
Larkin and Martin [57]	2016	UK	Experimental sessions	141	The weight of the consumer influences their perception of the calorie content of a product considered healthy, while this effect is less pronounced in the case of “unhealthy” food Consumers underestimate the calorie content of foods considered healthy compared to those considered unhealthy
Szocs and Lefebvre [58]	2016	USA	Within subjects experiment, lab study, between subject design,	122 + 111 + 166	Perceived healthiness and perceived calorie content are not influenced by the physical state of the product (e.g., liquid or solid) Participants perceived more processed products less healthy and richer in calories Participants considered the less processed fruit and yoghurt plate healthier than the more processed smoothie
Lazzarini et al. [59]	2016	Switzerland	Experiment	85	The perceived healthiness and the perceived environmentally friendly nature of a product correlate The indicators of perceived healthiness: product category, fat content, extent of processing and the indication of organic origin
Jo et al. [60]	2016	France	Framed field experiment	129	Consumers are willing to pay more for “healthy” products if objective information on the nutritional composition is available Information on nutritional value increases willingness to pay for “healthy” foods, while decreases it for foods considered unhealthy
Fenko, Lotterman and Galetzka [61]	2016	Netherlands	Questionnaire	165	Products in angular packaging were perceived healthier than those in rounded packaging The higher a consumer’s general health interest, the less they considered a product healthy Product category significantly influenced perceived healthiness, while brand name did not
Hipp et al. [62]	2016	USA	Survey	2015	The examined signs and symbols that were displayed on vending machines and at cafés in order to foster health-conscious food choices did not help consumer decision
Rizk & Treat [63]	2015a	USA	Survey	272	In the case of products in bigger packaging/portions participants had difficulty in distinguishing their perceived healthiness
Rizk and Treat [64]	2015b	USA	Survey	169	Single women mostly relied on fat- and fibre content when assessing the healthiness of a product Displaying protein- and sugar content mitigated reliance on fat- and fibre content
Sütterlin and Siegrist [65]	2015	Switzerland	Experiments	164 + 202 + 251 + 162	people assess the healthiness of a product with the help of simple heuristics—e.g., in the case of fructose: fruit-healthy—see health halo effect
Wąsowicz et al. [66]	2015	Poland	Focus group, survey	8 + 90	consumers associate certain colours with the healthiness of the product. yellow, blue, red and green colours may indicate healthiness blue and yellow colours evoked positive emotions both from the perspective of healthiness and of naturalness
Luomala et al. [67]	2015	Finland	Personal and group interviews	40	The dieting status and health motivation of consumers as well as the assessment of the benefits offered by the product influence the perceived taste and healthiness of the product Those who are not on a diet are more critical in their assessment of what is tasty and healthy Those on a diet consider light salad dressing and light sausage healthy, while those not on a diet consider these products unhealthy
Xie et al. [68]	2015	China	Survey (questionnaire) + in depth interviews	388 + 18	Health benefits are one of the most important factors that make consumers purchase organic products
Grubor et al. [69]	2015	Serbia	Focus groups, survey	? + 300	“Consumers’ health attitudes” mostly influence the consumption of enriched products the pre-enrichment version of which they had already been familiar with
Vasiljevic, Pechey, and Marteau [70]	2015	UK	Between-subject experiment	955	Regardless of the label, participants considered chocolate tastier, and a muesli bar healthier A frowning emoji on a white background had the effect of a muesli bar being considered less tasty and less healthy Emojis had a stronger influence on the perception of healthiness and tastiness of snacks than did coloured labels Frowning emojis have a stronger influence than smiley ones on perceived healthiness for products where perception of healthiness is influenced by the health halo effect
Reutner, Genschow and Wänke [71]	2015	Switzerland	Between subject experiment	91 + 143	The colour red influences the assessment of products considered unhealthy (dangerous) more than that of healthy products Using red colour mitigated the consumption of foods considered unhealthy, and also influenced the choice of these products
Thomsen and Hansen [72]	2015	Denmark	qualitative pilot study; survey	16 + 599	Improving consumer knowledge on healthy nutrition could help to make healthy food choices It is difficult to improve the knowledge of consumers who take less interest in healthy nutrition
Dharni and Gupta [73]	2015	India	Survey	150	Perceived usefulness of nutritional information is of key importance when making decisions related to healthy nutrition Understanding information increases perceived usefulness, while the increase of perceived usefulness facilitates choosing better- healthier- food
Annunziata, Vecchio and Kraus [74]	2015	Italy	Survey	400	Consumers over 60 are influenced by health claims in the assessment of the healthiness of functional foods Consumers over 60 have difficulty verifying the reliability of information Among the several used symbols, heart was the most valuable for elderly consumers
Maehle et al. [75]	2015	USA	Conjoint analysis	306	The issue of healthiness is less important in the case of “utilitarian food products” than for hedonic foods Moreover, in the case of “utilitarian food products”, the healthiness of the product is the least important feature compared to the taste and price of the product and the usage of “environmental label”
Bucher, Müller & Siegrist [76]	2015	Switzerland	Survey	85	Lay consumers assessed the healthiness of a product according to aspects similar to those of experts’ When making decisions, lay consumers ignored the quantity of saturated fat, protein, and sodium in the product Lay consumers were quite able to assess the nutrition profile of individual food items, but were less able to do so with complete dishes
Kraus [77]	2015	Poland	Survey	200	The most important health-related features can be ranked the following way: (1) strengthens the immune system (2) lowers the risk of tumour-related diseases (3) lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases
Rodman et al. [78]	2014	USA (Baltimore, Maryland)	In-depth interview	36	Organic origin is important for consumers when assessing the healthiness of a product. When communicating the healthiness of the product, organic origin can have effectiveness similar to other health messages.
Orquin [79]	2014	Denmark	Brunswik lens model	1329	Perceived healthiness mainly depends on two factors: product category and consumer knowledge on individual products Consumers underestimate the healthiness of milk and yoghurt and overestimate that of butters and cheeses Consumers are inclined to perceive a product healthier if they are familiar with it
Carrete and Arroyo [80]	2014	Mexico	In-depth interviews, focus groups	8 + 30	In general, the taste, colour, and texture of a product are more important for consumers than nutritional characteristics, which hinders healthier nutrition
Lin [81]	2014	Taiwan	2 × 2 experimental design	170 + 177	happier people are more variety seeking in the case of healthful products or products they are not familiar with, while sadder people are more open to variety in the case of hedonic or familiar products The type of the product “(hedonic vs. Healthful products)” influences the relationship between variety seeking and the mood of the consumer