"Health professionals agree that the relationship between diet and health is important. Our eating habits can help or hurt our overall health and well-being. Good eating habits include being a smart shopper and selecting foods that reflect the Dietary Guidelines.The food label was designed to help people choose foods for a healthful diet. By using the food label, we can compare the nutrient content of similar foods, see how foods fit into our overall diets, and understand the relationship between certain nutrients and diseases.Health claims describe the relationship between a nutrient or a food and the risk of a disease. Products that make a health claim must contain a defined amount of the nutrient that is directly linked to the health-related condition.Nutrition labels can help you choose between products, and keep a check on the amount of foods high in fat, salt and added sugars that you're eating. Nutrition labels can also provide information on how a particular food or drink product fits into your daily diet.Consumers are often confused by health claims on food labels, according to a review of research carried out on behalf of the Agency in anticipation of a new European regulation on health and nutrition claims.The overall aims of NUTRILAB are:Bring together, review and analyze current research on consumer understanding of claims, and also labeling where this would inform our knowledge of consumer understanding of claims.Gather information on how consumer understanding of claims varies across different population groups, to gain insight into the understanding of the 'average consumer'.Draw conclusions from existing research to see whether there are areas where further information would be useful, and to inform the direction that any additional research conducted in future could take.We will reach these targets as a multidisciplinary team across Europe, sharing knowledge, developing new approaches."