When Cognitive Sciences Meet Real Life: Decoding the Semiotic Cocktail of Food Labels from a Fairness Perspective

Consumers in general pay little attention to food labels. The study of expert-to-layperson communication related to food labels integrates many aspects of what cognitive sciences are about: Knowledge modelling and knowledge transfer, termhood and precision as well as fuzziness, interaction between text, pictures, colours and sensory qualities of a package, expectations and attention. All of this is present on a very limited space in a concentrated form. A consumer who is to make an informed choice of a food product risks being misled by the bombardment with elements of information which interact with his/her existing knowledge, expectations and buying motivations. A cross-disciplinary Danish research project provides a new, shared frame of reference for food manufacturers, authorities, and consumer organisations for assessing in-store food-to-consumer communication from a fairness perspective. The aim is to reduce the misleading hazards in food labelling and suggest how to improve food label communication.