Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South

Mandle, Jessie; Tugendhaft, Aviva; Michalow, Julia; Hofman, Karen

doi:10.3402/gha.v8.25912

Cited by 76 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…More than a third of participants indicated that the main reasons for not reading nutrition information on labels were that they 'buy the same type of product all the time' (34.28%) or that they were 'not interested in the nutrition information provided on food labels' (31.44%). These findings are similar to those from a review of research from the global South conducted by Mandle, Tugendhaft, Michalow, and Hofman (2015), who found that a lack of interest in nutrition labelling, time and difficulty in understanding the information were some of the main reasons consumers do not read the nutrition information provided on food labels.…”

Section: Reading Of Nutrition Information On Food Labelssupporting

confidence: 86%

Consumer knowledge and use of food and nutrition labelling in South Africa: A cross‐sectional descriptive study

Koen

Wentzel-Viljoen

Nel

et al. 2018

Int J Consumer Studies

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The noncommunicable disease burden can be addressed through population-wide interventions, including the promotion of healthy diets through the provision of adequate nutrition information on food labels. The study aimed to determine consumer knowledge and reading of nutrition information on food labels; the self-reported impact of food and nutrition labelling on purchasing behaviour; and barriers to and expectations of reading nutrition information. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, an interviewer-administered electronic survey was conducted on adult consumers (N 5 960) at 16 randomly selected grocery stores (from the four main food retailers in South Africa) in four health districts of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Data from the survey were exported from SurveyMonkey ® to Microsoft Excel and analysed using STATISTICA Version 13. The relation between nominal variables was investigated with contingency tables and likelihood ratio chi-squared tests. Regression analysis of a continuous response variable vs. ordinal input was done and the strength of the relationship was measured with Spearman correlation. A p-value of p < .05represented statistical significance. Only 36.0% of participants indicated that they frequently/ always read nutrition information on food labels. Older individuals (p < .05), white participants (p < .001), those with a higher level of education (p < .001) and income (p < .001) read nutrition information more frequently. The main reasons for not reading nutrition information included buying the same type of product all the time (34.28%) and not being interested in the nutrition information (31.44%). The mean food and nutrition label knowledge score was 44.4% (fair or below average) with those that often read the nutrition information on labels having a significantly higher score (p < .01). Main factors influencing food purchasing behaviour included price (81.25%), sell-by date (89.16%) and products on special/promotion (87.08%). Participants would prefer less complex terminology (79.69%), more pictures/colours (71.15%), a single health endorsement logo (73.33%) and bigger font sizes (69.17%) to be used on food labels. Cape Town consumers have fair food and nutrition label knowledge and do not regularly read nutrition information on labels. This could explain why nutrition information was not mentioned as an important determinant of food purchasing. More should be done to educate consumers on utilizing the nutrition information on food labels to make healthier food choices and to simplify food labels for consumers. K E Y W O R D S consumer, food labelling, knowledge, noncommunicable disease, nutrition, South Africa 1 | I NTR OD U CTI ON With the global population of people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) having increased rapidly in recent decades (World Health Organization, 2013), population-based approaches positively influencing consumer diet and promoting healthier eating have gained attention (European Food Information Council, 2016). Nutrition labelling, the sec...

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Section: Reading Of Nutrition Information On Food Labelssupporting

confidence: 86%

Consumer knowledge and use of food and nutrition labelling in South Africa: A cross‐sectional descriptive study

Koen

Wentzel-Viljoen

Nel

et al. 2018

Int J Consumer Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These reasons for ignoring nutrition information on food labels are very similar to those reported in a review conducted by Mandle et al on nutrition labelling in the global South, confirming that consumers, irrespective of their demographic or geographic background, cite similar reasons for not reading the nutrition information on food labels (Mandle, Tugendhaft, Michalow, & Hofman, 2015).…”

Section: Theme 3: Why Do I Ignore the Nutrition Information On Foodsupporting

confidence: 80%

Price rather than nutrition information the main influencer of consumer food purchasing behaviour in South Africa: A qualitative study

Koen

Wentzel-Viljoen

Blaauw

2018

Int J Consumer Studies

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In South Africa there has been a paucity of data on food and nutrition labelling since the publication of the new food‐labelling legislation. This study aimed to explore whether the nutrition information on food products influences consumer purchasing behaviour; reasons for reading or ignoring nutrition information on labels, and to investigate expectations regarding food / nutrition labelling. Nine focus‐group discussions were held with adult consumers (N=67) in Cape Town, South Africa. Food price was sometimes the only consideration when selecting food products, irrespective of quality and nutritional value. When buying products for the first time, consumers were more inclined to read the nutrition information compared to habitual purchases or buying known brands. The list of ingredients, nutrient content claims and specific health endorsement logos were considered important. Reasons for reading nutrition information were mainly to assess the nutritional value or health properties, to avoid certain ingredients/allergens and to determine quality. Consumers struggled to understand the information on labels, specifically the nutrition information table. A lack of time or interest, price concerns and trust in labelling information also emerged as reasons why consumers ignore the nutrition information. There is a need for simpler food labelling, more graphics, and less complex terminology, information overload and quantitative information. It is recommended that a standardised front‐of‐package labelling scheme and a single health endorsement logo for South Africa be considered. More should be done to educate consumers on utilising the information on food labels correctly, in order for them to make healthier food choices.

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“…Interest in country of origin of a food is understood to be a preference of consumers for foods produced in their own country [19,20], following either from inferences about food quality and safety, or a belief that locally produced foods are better for the local economy. The ranking of important issues on food labels is not consistent across countries [17]. For example, in Ghana the expiration date is ranked first, followed by nutritional information and the ingredient list, with country of origin being ranked as relatively unimportant [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The final survey question also returned 14% of people stating they did not use food labels, providing internal consistency for this measure in the survey. It is a common finding that women are more likey to use food labels [17].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of consumer attitude towards nutrition and health statements on food labels in South Australia

Riley¹,

Bowen²,

Krause³

et al. 2016

FFHD

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Background: For many decades, Australia has required a Nutrient Information Panel to be included on food packaging, usually on the back of products. Recently, two regulated, voluntary systems were introduced for use on food packaging in Australia: the Health Star Rating system and nutrient content and health claims. Nonetheless, the scope and potential for these new initiatives to achieve their purpose is partly depdendant on their perception by consumers. This report describes the results of a population based survey of South Australian adults about how various elements of food labels are used to inform their purchase decisions. Methods:A survey was conducted using a random stratified sampling technique in people aged 15 years and older in the Australian state of South Australia. All surveys were administered faceto-face to 3005 people between September 2015 and December 2015. Data was weighted by the inverse of the individual's probability of selection, as well as the response rate in metropolitan and country regions and then reweighted to benchmarks from the June 2014 Estimated Resident Population calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Results:The response rate for the survey was 57.3%. Most respondents to the survey rated their own dietary intake as 'healthy' (61.5%) or 'extremely healthy' (9.1%). Aside from price, country of origin was nominated as the most important information on the food label of a food bought for the first time (by 35.0%), followed by the ingredient list (21.6%) and claims about nutrition (20.9%). The response to this question was markedly different by age group, with almost half (48.3%) of those aged 55 years or over considering that country of origin was the most important information to look for. For the youngest age group (15-34 yrs), 28.4% considered the ingredient list was the most important information, 26.5% considered claims about nutrition to be most important, and 22.2% considered country of origin to be the most important information on the food label. The Nutrition Information Panel was used to guide the purchase decision for a new breakfast cereal by more than half of respondents (50.8%), while a statement on the front of the pack about how the food effects health was used to guide the purchase decision of only 8.9%. While only 22.1% disagreed (16.4% disagreed somewhat, 5.7% disagreed completely) with the statement that 'the Nutrient Information Panel on food packaging is a trustworthy source of information,' almost double the amount of subjects at 44.0% disagreed (36.1% disagreed somewhat, 17.9% disagreed completely) that 'statements about health on food packaging are a trustworthy source of information.' Conclusion: For South Australian adults, statements about health benefits of food on food packaging are viewed with much greater suspicion than the nutrient information panel. Attitudes towards food packaging varied more by age group than by sex of the respondent. For an unfamiliar food, country of origin is considered the most important information ...

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Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South

Cited by 76 publications

References 59 publications

Consumer knowledge and use of food and nutrition labelling in South Africa: A cross‐sectional descriptive study

Consumer knowledge and use of food and nutrition labelling in South Africa: A cross‐sectional descriptive study

Price rather than nutrition information the main influencer of consumer food purchasing behaviour in South Africa: A qualitative study

A survey of consumer attitude towards nutrition and health statements on food labels in South Australia

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