The Role of Labels and Perceived Health Risk in Avoidable Food Wasting

Abstract

An understanding of the consumer perception of health risks related to food expiration is a prerequisite for future food labeling system improvement in order to reduce environmental burdens. The aim of the study was identification, analysis, and assessment of consumer behavior in the context of food waste in households. The study was conducted using the direct interview method (face to face interviews) among a group of 1145 Polish consumers of food. The results show that consumers do not understand the differences between the concept of “use by” and “best before” labeling. Although rice, tea, and coffee were correctly perceived as safe during storage, there is a dissonance between consumer attitudes and behavior. The highest health risk was perceived as being due to consumption of expired “use by” dated milk (out of UHT milk, rice milk dessert, “best before” ready-to-eat meals and “use by” ready-to-heat meals, canned fruits, and fresh-cut salad). However, 51% of respondents still considered consuming it. Irrational consumer behavior poses a health threat as well as contributing to avoidable food waste. Social awareness campaigns are necessary to inform consumers about the monetary value of wasted food as well as about the environmental, social, and ethical impact of their behavior.

The Impact of the Nutritional Knowledge of Polish Students Living Outside the Family Home on Consumer Behavior and Food Waste

“…[ 83 ] Marek-Andrzejewska and Wielicka-Regulska indicated that students’ ignorance of how to label dates (as in people without nutritional knowledge) is associated with ignorance of the differences between dates, not that products with expiration dates can be consumed after the expiration date. This is also confirmed by [ 97 ], that consumers do not understand the difference between “use by” and “best before” labels. Although products often show no signs of spoilage, they are discarded, such as eggs [ 37 ].…”

“…Our survey can help develop an educational campaign about reducing food waste and managing food properly. Therefore, education among students regarding food wastage and its consequences should be considered [ 59 , 69 , 97 , 102 , 103 , 104 ]. They should have a broader picture of the consequences associated with food wastage and they should be made aware that wastage itself leads to serious economic, environmental, moral, and social consequences.…”

Consumer Opinions on the Causes of Food Waste — Demographic and Economic Conditions

“…Consumers in Poland admit that they did not consume the food purchased because they are not fully aware of the difficulties with interpreting the information on the shelf life of food. In the context of the above, an interesting research issue was to identify consumer opinions on the causes of food waste and to diagnose the relationship between opinions and segmentation variables such as consumer age, consumer education, material status, the number of people in the household and the number of children in the family (Ankiel & Samotyja, 2020).…”

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“…In the literature, no consistency exists over the role of gender and level of education on household food waste (Falasconi et Ease of understanding of food labelling system is important for proper food handling, therefore, our study points the role of out-of-school consumer education, especially for less educated individuals. Uncertainty about how to proceed with food after passing shelf-life date and doubts regarding its safety is the driver of food waste (Ankiel, Samotyja, 2020). Consumers who find the date labelling system difficult to understand may represent less motivated preventive behaviour (van Geffen et al, 2020).…”