Table_2_Analysis of Content, Social Networks, and Sentiment of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling in the European Union on Twitter.DOCX

In recent years, concerted political efforts have been made at the national and European Union (EU) level to promote the consumption of healthy foods. The European Commission (EC) expressed the need for a harmonized and mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPL) system at the EU level. The EC will adopt the proposal by the end of 2022. Our research work aims to understand the public discourse on FOPL in the EU via Twitter, by analyzing tweet content, sentiment, and mapping network characteristics. Tweet search and data collection were performed using the Twitter application programming interface (API), with no time or language restrictions. The content was coded with the QRS Nvivo software package and analyzed thematically. Automatic sentiment analysis was performed with QSR Nvivo, and network analysis was performed with Gephi 0.9.2. A total of 4,073 tweets were posted, mostly from the UK, Spain, and France. Themes that have emerged from the discussion on Twitter include the types of food labeling, food industry, healthy vs. unhealthy foods in the context of food labeling, EU regulation, political conflicts, and science and education. Nutri-Score dominated the discussion on Twitter. General topics were perceived negatively by Twitter users with more positive sentiments toward the food industry, while negative sentiments were observed toward the discourse of political conflicts. The network analysis showed that a centralized communication was hardly existed between countries. Our results reveal that the discussion of FOPL on Twitter is limited to a very limited group of people, and it seems necessary to inform a wide range of consumers about existing and upcoming FOPL schemes. Educational programs should empower consumers to understand what a healthy diet is and how it relates to FOPL, regardless of the existing labeling system.

近年来，各国及欧盟（European Union, EU）层面均已协同推进政治举措，以推广健康食品消费。欧洲委员会（European Commission, EC）提出，需在欧盟层面建立统一且强制的包装正面营养标签（front-of-pack nutrition labeling, FOPL）体系。欧委会计划于2022年底前通过该提案。本研究旨在通过推特（Twitter）平台分析欧盟范围内公众关于包装正面营养标签（FOPL）的讨论，具体涵盖推文内容、情感倾向及网络特征映射。推文检索与数据采集通过推特应用程序编程接口（Twitter Application Programming Interface, API）完成，未设置时间与语言限制。研究内容采用QRS Nvivo质性数据分析软件进行编码，并开展主题式分析；自动情感分析同样借助QSR Nvivo完成，网络分析则采用Gephi 0.9.2工具开展。本次研究共采集到4073条推文，主要来自英国、西班牙与法国。推特平台讨论中涌现出的主题包括：食品标签类型、食品行业、食品标签语境下的健康与非健康食品、欧盟监管、政治冲突以及科学与教育。营养评分（Nutri-Score）是本次推特讨论的核心议题。推特用户对通用讨论话题持负面态度，对食品行业则抱有更多积极情绪，而针对政治冲突相关讨论的情绪则偏向负面。网络分析结果显示，欧盟各国之间几乎不存在中心化的沟通联动。本研究结果表明，推特平台上关于包装正面营养标签的讨论仅局限于极小范围群体，因此有必要向广大消费者普及现有及即将推行的包装正面营养标签方案。应通过教育项目帮助消费者理解健康饮食的内涵，以及其与包装正面营养标签之间的关联，而无需受限于当前已有的标签体系。