Manipulating Disclosure: Creative Compliance in the Israeli Food Industry

Abstract

Front-of-package food labels meant to inform consumers of the food’s nutritional values through simple and easy-to-comprehend graphic rating and warning systems are gaining increasing popularity in regulatory spheres. Around the world, health regulators have adopted front-of-package disclosure systems based on infographics, symbols, logos, colors, numbers, and letters, via both mandatory and voluntary schemes, while others, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are considering adopting them. The recent Israeli food-labeling reform reveals consumer misinformation tactics deployed by food companies through various graphic manipulations that can be regarded as “creative compliance.” Adding to the policy and theory of disclosure regulation, this Article discusses the misinformation effect of graphic disclosure and suggests soft law tools for combating this regulatory failure, such as regulatory shaming and voluntary regulatory agreements.

Keywords: regulation, food labels, disclosure, Israel, compliance, rating systems, health policy, FDA, consumer law, misinformation, public law, shaming