The ‘Green Keyhole’ revisited: Nutritional knowledge may influence food selection

Abstract

Introduction: The food-marking symbol the ‘Green Keyhole’ has been in use since 1989 in Sweden, to make it easier for consumers to select low-fat and high-fibre alternatives.

Objective: To describe knowledge of the Green Keyhole symbol in a general population of both sexes and the association between knowledge and intake of Green Keyhole labelled foods.

Design: A cross-sectional study within the GOT-MONICA project 1995/96.

Subjects: 732 males and 859 females, aged 25–64 y.

Methods: Reported intakes of Green Keyhole labelled low-fat and fibre-enriched foods from a food frequency questionnaire, in relation to knowledge of the Green Keyhole symbol.

Results: 53% and 76% of the males and females, respectively, understood the meaning of the symbol. Subjects with knowledge were significantly younger (P<0.0001) and (among women) thinner (P=0.0105), than those without knowledge. Intakes of Green Keyhole labelled low-fat foods were significantly higher in males (P=0.0443) and females (P<0.0001) with knowledge of the symbol than without. An interaction between education and knowledge of the Green Keyhole symbol was found for intake of low-fat marked foods (P=0.0088).

Conclusions: Both males and females with knowledge of the symbol seem to have adopted its low-fat message. However, in certain sub-groups, particularly the less educated, the message of the symbol appears to have no association with dietary practices.