Is food labelling effective?

Dr Elizabeth Kempen

Local and global debates have revealed many uncertainties concerning the role of food labelling in food choice and purchasing behaviour. The BMR report reflects findings on food labelling usage, the functionality and importance of food labelling and consumers' attitudes to and comprehension of food labelling.

The research involved a telephone survey among a sample of 357 food shoppers in the Gauteng region, which accounts for almost one third of South African household expenditure on food. The questionnaire was designed in close cooperation with the Consumer Science Division of the Department of Life and Consumer Sciences at Unisa.

Results

Shoppers expressed the following opinions:

• Value for money, price, expiry date and quality were viewed as the most important packaging-related considerations influencing the decisions to buy a food product
  
• Followed by considerations such as nutrition information reflected in food labels together with environmentally friendly and locally produced
  
• Interested in and concerned about their current health status
  
• Confident about their ability to comprehend nutrition information in product labels
  
• Currently read more health-related articles than they did three years ago
  
• Prioritised health-related behaviours - maintaining a well balanced diet, eating enough fresh fruit and vegetables, getting enough sleep and watching sugar and fat intake
  
• Most neglected practices - regular exercise, cutting back on snacks and treats, avoiding foods with additives (tartrazine) and preservatives (MSG) and watching salt content

  • 36-45-year-old shoppers displayed the least healthy lifestyle with lower participation rates
    
  • Younger shoppers (16-25-year-olds) also displayed a relatively unhealthy lifestyle, engaging less in cutting back on snacks, paying attention to the amount of alcohol consumed and trying to avoid smoking
    
  • By income group, middle-income shoppers (R20 001-R35 000) displayed a healthier lifestyle, claiming to avoid foods with additives, watching the amount of fat consumed, paying attention to sugar intake and eating a well balanced diet
    
  • High-income shoppers indicated that they pay more attention to the amount of alcohol consumed and try to avoid smoking but pay less attention to the amount of red meat, fat or sugar consumed

  • Proportionally, female shoppers indicated that they pay attention to the amount of red meat consumed more so than males do

Label reading:

• 28.4% of shoppers never read on-pack nutrition information
  
• 31.9% often read nutrition information
  
• 40.7% seldom read nutrition information
  
• Reading of nutrition information is more prevalent amongst shoppers from the higher disposable household income groups
  
• Between 85% and 89% of those who read nutrition information claim to read the total fat content, vitamins and ingredients listed in food labels
  
• Between 70% and 80% indicated that they read the information on colourants such as tartrazine, saturated fat, sugars, carbohydrates, fibre, protein, additives such as MSG, poly-unsaturated fat and energy
  
• Between 60% and 70% read information about mono-unsaturated fat, sodium, trans-fatty acids and minerals
  
• Almost all respondents knew that calcium builds strong bones and vitamin C fights colds
  
• Fewer than 50% knew that potassium balances sodium in the body.

The following figure depicts the percentage of shoppers who correctly linked the relevant nutrient to the corresponding health benefit.

Objective Nutrition Knowledge

In general, the BMR report suggests that shoppers need greater assistance and guidance in the use, interpretation and application of nutrition information contained in food labels.

The 114 page report, Food Labelling and Healthful Living in Gauteng, 2009 (Research Report no 389) is available from BMR.