Restaurant Menu Carbon Footprint Labeling

Food Preferences Clinical Trial

Official title:

Impact of Restaurant Menu Carbon Footprint Labeling on Consumers Purchase Intentions and Perceptions

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05592340
• Other study ID #: 849162
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 3, 2022
• Est. completion date: December 1, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: December 2022
• Source: University of Pennsylvania
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This online randomized clinical trial will test the effects of restaurant menu carbon footprint labels on consumers' choices and perceptions of restaurant menu items.

Description:

This online randomized clinical trial will test the effects of restaurant menu carbon footprint labels on consumers' choices and perceptions of restaurant menu items. Participants will be randomized to see a restaurant menu with one of two labeling schemes: 1) Control: calorie labels only; 2) Carbon footprint labels in addition to calorie labels. Participants will be instructed to select an entree to hypothetically order from an online restaurant menu. After selecting, they will be asked to answer questions about their perceptions of menu items and carbon footprint labels.The primary outcome will be the average carbon footprint of menu items chosen from the online menu.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 2389
• Est. completion date: December 1, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: December 1, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• US adults aged 18 or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• Younger than 18

• Non-US

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Food Preferences

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Exposure to calorie information
Calories for all foods and beverages
• Exposure to carbon footprint information
Carbon footprint labels for all foods and beverages

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Pennsylvania

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Carbon footprint of selected menu item	Participants will select a menu item to purchase from the online restaurant menu. Outcome is carbon footprint of selected item.	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Calories in selected menu item	Participants will select a menu item to purchase from the online restaurant menu. Outcome is calorie content of selected item.	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived enjoyment of high-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all (1) to a great deal (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived enjoyment of low-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all (1) to a great deal (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived likelihood to order high-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all likely (1) to extremely likely (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived likelihood to order low-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all likely (1) to extremely likely (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived healthfulness of high-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all healthy (1) to extremely healthy (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived healthfulness of low-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all healthy (1) to extremely healthy (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Estimated calories in high-carbon-footprint menu item	Open response variable	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Estimated calories in low-carbon-footprint menu item	Open response variable	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived carbon footprint of high-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured with three multiple choice options: larger, smaller, or about the same carbon footprint compared to the typical menu item's carbon footprint	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived carbon footprint of low-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured with three multiple choice options: larger, smaller, or about the same carbon footprint compared to the typical menu item's carbon footprint	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived lowering of carbon footprint for high-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all (1) to a great deal (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived lowering of carbon footprint for low-carbon-footprint menu item	This variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all (1) to a great deal (5)	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Noticing carbon footprint labels	Participants will respond "yes," "no," or "I don't know" to the item: "Think back to the beginning of this survey. When you were looking at the Just Salad menu, did you notice any labels (other than calorie information or price) next to or beneath the food items?"	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Label influence	If participants responded "yes" to noticing labels, they will respond to "How did the label alone (not the calorie information or price) influence what you chose to order, if at all? The label…" with three options: more likely, less likely, or no effect	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Perceived Message Effectiveness of labels	Three items averaged together: How much does this label discourage you from wanting to eat foods with a larger carbon footprint? [1-5: Not at all, very little, somewhat, quite a bit, a great deal]; How much does this label make you concerned about the environmental effects of eating foods that have a larger carbon footprint? [1-5: Not at all, very little, somewhat, quite a bit, a great deal]; How much does this label make eating foods with a larger carbon footprint seem unpleasant to you? [1-5: Not at all, very little, somewhat, quite a bit, a great deal]	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Believability of labels	Item: How much do you believe this label? [1-5: Not at all, very little, somewhat, quite a bit, a great deal]	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Learned from labels	Item: To what extent did you learn something new from this label? [1-5: Not at all, very little, somewhat, quite a bit, a great deal]	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Talk about labels with others	Item: How likely are you to talk about this label with others? [Likert scale from not at all likely (1) to extremely likely (5)]	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.
Secondary	Understand the labels	Item: How easy or difficult was it to understand this label? [Likert scale from very easy (1) to extremely difficult (5)]	The survey will take up to 20 minutes.