Research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) Sauder School of Business suggests that many grocery shoppers mistakenly use shelf life as a shortcut to assess a food's naturalness and healthiness. The study, which included researchers from China, involved experiments comparing various foods such as potato chips, pasta sauce, mayonnaise, and granola bars with different shelf lives.
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Findings indicated that shoppers tended to view foods with shorter shelf lives as more natural and healthier, regardless of comparable ingredients and nutritional content. For instance, in the case of mayonnaise, one product had a longer shelf life solely due to superior packaging, yet participants still preferred the option with the shorter shelf life.
Additionally, even when informed that a longer shelf life was due to better packaging rather than processing, participants continued to rely on shelf life as a measure of naturalness. In experiments, potato chips with a five-month shelf life were rated as healthier than similar chips with a nine-month shelf life. When asked to prioritize natural foods, nearly 70% of participants chose a pasta sauce with a one-year shelf life, but that figure fell to 43% when the focus shifted to sustainability.
The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, highlighted that consumers often use shelf life as a ‘mental shortcut’ for making purchase decisions. Co-author Yann Cornil, an associate professor at UBC Sauder, emphasized that while shelf life can be a useful indicator, it is heavily influenced by packaging quality, which does not necessarily reflect a product's naturalness.
Cornil noted that advances in packaging and preservation technologies have improved the freshness of many products without relying on additional preservatives. He warned that equating shorter shelf life with less processing might lead consumers to overlook healthier products that can remain fresh for extended periods due to enhanced preservation methods.
Registered dietitian Kelly Springer echoed this sentiment, stating, "A shorter shelf life does not automatically mean a food is healthier," and suggested that consumers should evaluate food items by checking nutrition labels rather than focusing solely on expiration dates. Cornil also pointed out that too many unrecognizable ingredients could be a better indicator of unhealthy processing than shelf life.
As awareness grows about the consumption of ultra-processed foods—approximately 55% of daily caloric intake for many Americans—these findings underline the importance of informed shopping practices.