Measurement of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Meals of a University Food Operator

Food Selection Clinical Trial

— Cafeteria  

Official title:

Measurement of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Meals of a University Food Operator

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04152785
• Other study ID #: to be determined
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: March 1, 2020
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: December 2021
• Source: Laval University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Université Laval wishes to raise awareness among students and employees in the university community so that they become aware of the impacts of their consumption choices by equipping them to adopt consumption behaviours that are favourable to the environment and their health. To do this, it is necessary to assess consumers' perception of the information available when choosing a meal to determine, among other things, whether knowledge of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions influences their selections. In addition to this evaluation criterion, consumer perception of the nutritional quality of food will also be assessed. The nutritional composition of the meals of the characterized week will make it possible to calculate, using a nutritional profiling tool, the nutritional quality score of each meal of the day.

Description:

This study consists of an individual meeting with each participant. This meeting will last approximately 1 hour during which each subject will choose a meal and complete various questionnaires. Subjects (male or female) will be randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions ("GHG", "nutrition", "GHG+nutrition" and "no logo"). Since subjects could change their eating behaviours if they knew the true purpose of the study, they will be deliberately misled when they enter the study. Participants will be recruited to participate in a market research study in which they will be invited to taste and evaluate a new meal for the cafeteria. At the end of the session, each participant will be informed of the actual objective of the study.

In this context, the general objectives of this second phase of the project are therefore:

1. Evaluate consumer perceptions of the available information on the GHG score (in equivalent C02), the nutritional quality score and the eco-efficiency score (combination of GHG + nutrition), and;

2. Determine if the presence of information (logo on the different scores) influences food choice and consumption among Université Laval students and staff.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 160
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: November 13, 2020
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Study or work at Université Laval

Exclusion Criteria:

• People taking drugs that may affect appetite (e.g., antidepressants, antipsychotics or corticosteroids);

• People with food allergies or intolerances, and pregnant and lactating women;

• People with food aversions to more than 20% of the main meal ingredients from the menu.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Food Selection

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Information regarding GHG and/or nutrition
Participants will have to select a meal from a menu.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functionnal Foods (INAF)	Québec city	Quebec

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Laval University	Ministère de l'environnement et lutte contre les changements climatiques

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Consumer perceptions of the meal given the information available on the GHG score, the nutritional quality score and the eco-efficiency score (combination of GHG + nutrition) vs no logo.	Visual analogue scale (150mm) evaluating the perception of the participants according to the information given. Participants draw a line on the scale (between 0 and 150 mm). The higher the score, the higher the appreciation.	Within the year after the beginning of the study
Secondary	Food choice by the students and staff at Université Laval depending on the presence of information (logo on the different scores).	Which meal between the 2 meals presented will be chosen by the participants given the information (logos or no logo) they received.	Within the year after the beginning of the study
Secondary	Amount of the meal consumed by the students and staff at Université Laval depending on the presence of information (logo on the different scores).	Measured in grams of food before and after the meal.	Within the year after the beginning of the study