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Vol.5 , No. 1, Publication Date: Feb. 12, 2018, Page: 1-16
| [1] | Mahesh Jadapalli, Department of Food Technology, Vikrama Simhapuri University, Nellore, India. |
| [2] | Silpa Somavarapu, Department of Food Technology, Vikrama Simhapuri University, Nellore, India. |
The study focused on consumer knowledge of Nutrition food label information among consumers in Nellore district, their perception on the importance of such information and difficulties encountered in reading and using pre packaged food labels. It was a survey design. This study was conducted from February to March, 2016. A questionnaire with 16 questions was used to collect information from 100 consumers who were found purchasing pre- packaged foods in selected supermarkets. The obtained data were computed to determine relationships and associations between various factors and the use of food labelling information among consumers in the area of study. Version 20.0 of the SPSS Program was utilized in all the statistical analysis undertaken in this study and the Chi-square test was conducted for variables. Awareness and use of pre-packaged food labelling information was found to be lowamong consumers in Nellore District. Findings showed that only a quarter of the study respondents had high awareness on food labelling. Health concerns, religious beliefs and the need to know characteristics of food, motivate consumers to read pre packaged food labels. Difficulties encountered in reading food labels included small font sizes, use of scientific and technical language as well as the use of unfamiliar language. Circumstances in which consumers purchase pre-packaged food without consulting the respective labels include time constraint and purchase of routine food products. Awareness and use of pre-packaged food labelling information was significantly associated with age, occupation and education level of respondents. People who read food labels concentrated on ingredients and expiry. It is therefore recommended that deliberate efforts should be taken to improve foodlabelling, provide education to consumers to raise their awareness and use of food labelling information as well as develop a consumer guide on food labelling. This can definitely lead to healthy society.
Keywords
Consumers, Food Labeling, Healthy Society, Respondents, Nutrition
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