‘Average’ Consumers Navigating the New Digital Food Chain: Influencers, Online Reviews and Rankings

With more and more consumers relying on online platforms to buy groceries and meals, traditional food labelling has been trumped by information arising from new features of today’s digital commerce. Instead of being affected by objective data on products’ origin, nutrition characteristics and allergens, individuals are increasingly drawn to feelings and perceptions conveyed by influencers’ experiences, online ratings, and rankings. In this sense, food information has become a different and larger notion than that on which EU Food Law is based on. This article examines the dynamics affecting the behaviour of food consumers online and how – and better yet, whether – EU law is responding to the challenges they raise.
Food information, delivery platforms, behavioural consumer protection, influencers, online review, online rankings, Food Information to Consumers Regulation, Digital Services Act, Better Enforcement and Modernisation Directive, Platform-to-Business Regulation