Awareness and Self-Reported Effects of the Innovative Mexican Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling Policy Among Mexican Americans Across Different US Regions, Health Literacy Levels, and Educational Attainment, 2021-2023

Purpose Evaluate trends and correlates of self-reported awareness of and responses to front-of-package warning labels (FoPWLs) on packaged Mexican foods among Mexican Americans (MAs) in the United States (US). Design International Food Policy Study annual cross-sectional surveys (2021, 2022, 2023). Setting Online survey. Sample MA adults in the US (n = 9662). Measures Self-reported past-month frequency of buying food at Mexican-oriented stores (recoded: often/very often vs less often), awareness of Mexican FoPWLs (recoded: often/very often vs less often), and self-reported reductions in purchasing less healthy foods (yes vs no for eight foods) due to FoPWLs. Analysis Adjusted logistic models regressed binary outcomes (above) on sociodemographics and survey year. Results Most participants bought food in Mexican-oriented stores (87.2%). Of those who noticed Mexican FoPWLs (67.6%), many reported that FoPWLs influenced them to reduce purchasing less healthy foods (range = 31.1% [snacks like chips] to 43.9% [cola]). In adjusted models, noticing FoPWLs often/very often (vs less often) increased over time (AOR 2022 vs 2021 = 1.30; AOR 2023 vs 2021 = 1.21), as did self-reported reductions in purchasing sweetened fruit drinks (AOR 2022 vs 2021 = 1.27), and desserts (AOR 2022 vs 2021 = 1.32). People with limited vs adequate health literacy reported higher awareness of FoPWLs (AOR = 1.21). Conclusion MAs’ awareness and reported effects of Mexican FoPWLs were high and stable or increased over time, with greater awareness among those with limited health literacy.