How Online Grocery Stores Support Consumer Nutrition Information Needs

Objective: To evaluate the availability of nutrition-related information and features on leading online grocery store Web sites. Methods: Twelve US grocery Web sites were assessed to determine (1) if Nutrition Facts panel or ingredient statements were available for 26 food items; and (2) if options to filter or sort search results by nutrition-related food attributes were available. Results: Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient statement information were available for most foods for which this information is required on product packaging (85% of foods). Most stores offered the ability to filter food search results by a nutrition-related food attribute. The ability to sort search results by a nutrition attribute was not an option at any of the stores. Conclusions and Implications: Online grocery stores include a variety of nutrition-related features. However, the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient statement information are not universally available for foods for which this information is required on product packaging.