Nutritional Communications across Climates: A comparative research study between Ecuador and the Netherlands

Abstract

A study in May 2014 analyzed food labels in Quito, Ecuador, to better understand the culture’s nutritional communication. The study explored what is considered to be a healthy diet in Ecuadorian culture and how this is communicated, and also to what extent nutrients in packaged food are effectively communicated via labelling. Data was gathered using a mixed methods approach; first using quantitative methods with a survey administrated to students at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Following the completion of the survey, participants were then asked to volunteer for a questionnaire containing open-ended questions, administered in one-on-one interviews, in order to collect qualitative data to enhance survey responses.  Finally, an analysis of nutritional labels in local grocery store completed the research. This same study was then conducted in May of 2016 at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, Netherlands, to explore the results from another country and act as a comparative study between the two cultures. Research from both cultures led to the identification of similar and different trends, themes, and outliers in the collected data. Both Ecuador and Dutch participants report receiving little to no formal education regarding diet and nutrition. This leads to participants building their model of a healthy diet from various inconsistent sources. Participants also express frustration and confusion with inconsistent labelling. Simple and measurable food labels in the Netherlands proved to have more importance and value to consumers than labels that are believed to hold false claims.