Thesis (MTech (Consumer Science: Food and Nutrition))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / Labels are the source of information about the contents of food products and must be correct so that consumers are not misled and can make informed product choices. However, food label information is often incorrect, misleading or just insufficient. The aim of this study was to determine the labelling errors and concerns that occurred in specific categories of the South African processed food market. Randomly selected food product labels (N=246) were evaluated that represented the selected categories of processed foods (N=7), namely: breakfast cereal (9%), savoury snacks (13%), sweet snacks (29%), non-refrigerated meals (7%), refrigerated meals (9%), soups and sauces (25%) and convenience desserts and baked goods (8%). A pre-tested labelling checklist was used to evaluate each food label according to the food labelling areas that could impact consumer health considering the current South African labelling regulations published in 1993, the draft of these regulations published in 2002, and the further new proposed draft regulations. Labelling errors found induded the use of prohibited statements and not identifying compound ingredients (19% and 12% of the products respectively). A labelling concern was also the lack of identification of the fatsloils used (61% of the products). Further concerns identified included the lack of additive-free and allergen-free claims. For example, significant differences (p<O.05) were found between the number of products claiming to be aclditive-free and those that could have made such ctaims but did not. A real concern was the listing of ingredients of unknown origin with allergenicity potential (80% of the products). The breakfast cereal category contained the most eneigy and nutrient claims and nutritional education information, with most errors identified in the categories refrigerated meals and soups and sauces, and most concerns in the category savoury snacks. There is scope for food labelling improvement, specifically in the areas of ingredient and allergen identification, additive-free claims and heaJth-related information provision.

Motivation There is international agreement and recognition that the health status of the worlds' population is a cause for concern and that one of the key risk factors for many of the diseases that are increasing at an alarming rate (heart disease, diabetes, cancer) in both developed and developing countries, is diet. Despite many successes (especially in the areas of the eradication and containment of infectious disease and reduced fertility) and the huge advances in scientific research and technology, that have increased both what is known, and what can be done, for prevention and risk management, we still face what many describe as a crisis. Knowledge it seems is not always adequately reflected in public health practice. The objective of the local (Department of Health, Directorate of Food Control) and international (WHO, Codex Alimentarius) drive towards increased and improved food labelling, is that if consumers have reliable nutrition information available at the point of purchase and if they understand how their diet affects their risk of diseases, they will be able to make risk-reducing food choices. This could ultimately have a significant positive public health impact. The food industry has also expressed an interest through the concept of functional foods (food similar in appearance to conventional food that is intended to be consumed as part of a normal diet, but has been modified to subserve physiological roles beyond the provision of simple nutrient requirements), that albeit in reality financially motivated, could provide consumers with the opportunity to reduce their risks of some diseases through readily available, good-tasting diets rather than through the use of curative measures only. For the success of both these initiatives in public health terms, consumers must: o accept the link between the food that they eat and their health o actively look for and trust the messages communicated be able to correctly process and integrate the information o make a purchasing decision. This highlights the importance of in-depth consumer understanding in order to ensure that regulatory, educational and marketing strategies will affect positive behaviour change and improve health status. Little consumer research has been done in South Africa to assist all those involved (government, industry, researchers, nutrition experts I dietitians, educators) in gaining potentially important insights. Objectives Of South Africa's almost 31 million adults, some 11 million live in the metropolitan areas and so have relative exposure to most media and access to the widest range of available food products. This group is also a microcosm of the larger South Africa - being made up of all races, ages and living standards. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the beliefs and practices of South African metropolitan adults, in relation to the food and health link and the health information contained on food packages in order to consider the implications for functional foods. The study design was focussed on four key variables, namely, gender, race, age and living standard measure (LSM). Methods The study was designed to ensure that the results would be representative of the metropolitan adult (>I6 years) population and that they could be weighted and extrapolated. 2000 adults made up of 1000 Blacks. 640 Whites, 240 Coloureds and 120 Indians, with a 50150 gender split were drawn using a stratified, random (probability) sampling method in order to allow for the legitimate use of the mathematics of probability as well as to avoid interviewer bias. The study group were interviewed, face-to-face, in home, in the preferred language from English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Tswana, North Sotho and South Sotho, by trained field workers. A minimum 20% back-check on each interviewer's work was undertaken to ensure reliability and validity of the data. The field worker used a pre-coded questionnaire that included seventeen food related questions designed by a multidisciplinary team of marketers, dietitians, nutritionists and research specialists. The food questions used a 5-point Likert scale in order to measure attitude. The data was captured (3 questionnaire were excluded due to being incorrectly filled in) and the computer software package STATISTICA@ Release 6, which was used to perform the statistical analysis. The data was data was weighted to represent the total metropolitan population prior to analysis. Quantitative data was statistically analysed in order to generate relevant descriptive statistics, cross tabulations and statistical tests. Results The study considered four variables; gender, race (Black, White, Coloured, Indian), age (16-29, 30-44,45+) and living standards measure (LSM 2-3, LSM 4-6, LSM 7-10), to explored four statements: 1. I believe food can have an effect on my health 2. 1 always look for health information contained on the packaging of food products 3. 1 don't take any notice of health information as it is only marketing hype 4. 1 buy food that claims to contribute to my health. The overall response to the belief that food can have an effect on health was positive (54%). There was no practical significant difference between age groups and genders but there were practical significant differences between Blacks and the other race groups (Blacks having the lowest belief in the food and health link) and between the highest LSM group and the other LSM groups (LSM 7-1 0 had the strongest belief in the link between food and health and this belief decreased with decreasing LSM). Forty-two percent of respondents always look for health information on the packaging of food, but there was no practical significant difference between all the variables, however women were more likely than men to always look for health information on food packaging. Over half the respondents (51%) stated that they look for health information and that it is not only marketing hype. There was a small practical significant difference between the top and the bottom LSM group with LSM 7-10 being less sceptical about the health information on food packaging. 67% buy foods that claim to beneffi their health and there was a small practical significant difference between Blacks and Whites, with more Blacks agreeing that they buy foods that claim to contribute to health. CONCLUSION Findings from this study indicate that adult metropolitan South Africans label reading practices are influenced by a number of factors including attitudes, beliefs and practices and that there are differences based on gender, race, age and LSM which must be considered by regulators in drafting food labelling regulations; the food industry when considering and developing functional foods; and nutrition experts when planning education strategies. Whilst the labelling of foods with health information and the development of function foods might indeed potentially empower consumers to effectively reduce their risk of many chronic diseases, on its own it is not enough. Nutrition education is vital and must be planned giving due consideration to the differences in belief and practices that exist within the different gender, race, age and LSM groups found in South Africa. Food consumption patterns are influenced by consumer attitudes, beliefs, needs, lifestyles and social trends and so more multi-disciplinary research in these fields must be encouraged to find ways to improve nutritional intakes that will lead to improved health for all South Africans. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Motivation There is international agreement and recognition that the health status of the worlds' population is a cause for concern and that one of the key risk factors for many of the diseases that are increasing at an alarming rate (heart disease, diabetes, cancer) in both developed and developing countries, is diet. Despite many successes (especially in the areas of the eradication and containment of infectious disease and reduced fertility) and the huge advances in scientific research and technology, that have increased both what is known, and what can be done, for prevention and risk management, we still face what many describe as a crisis. Knowledge it seems is not always adequately reflected in public health practice. The objective of the local (Department of Health, Directorate of Food Control) and international (WHO, Codex Alimentarius) drive towards increased and improved food labelling, is that if consumers have reliable nutrition information available at the point of purchase and if they understand how their diet affects their risk of diseases, they will be able to make risk-reducing food choices. This could ultimately have a significant positive public health impact. The food industry has also expressed an interest through the concept of functional foods (food similar in appearance to conventional food that is intended to be consumed as part of a normal diet, but has been modified to subserve physiological roles beyond the provision of simple nutrient requirements), that albeit in reality financially motivated, could provide consumers with the opportunity to reduce their risks of some diseases through readily available, good-tasting diets rather than through the use of curative measures only. For the success of both these initiatives in public health terms, consumers must: o accept the link between the food that they eat and their health o actively look for and trust the messages communicated be able to correctly process and integrate the information o make a purchasing decision. This highlights the importance of in-depth consumer understanding in order to ensure that regulatory, educational and marketing strategies will affect positive behaviour change and improve health status. Little consumer research has been done in South Africa to assist all those involved (government, industry, researchers, nutrition experts I dietitians, educators) in gaining potentially important insights. Objectives Of South Africa's almost 31 million adults, some 11 million live in the metropolitan areas and so have relative exposure to most media and access to the widest range of available food products. This group is also a microcosm of the larger South Africa - being made up of all races, ages and living standards. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the beliefs and practices of South African metropolitan adults, in relation to the food and health link and the health information contained on food packages in order to consider the implications for functional foods. The study design was focussed on four key variables, namely, gender, race, age and living standard measure (LSM). Methods The study was designed to ensure that the results would be representative of the metropolitan adult (>I6 years) population and that they could be weighted and extrapolated. 2000 adults made up of 1000 Blacks. 640 Whites, 240 Coloureds and 120 Indians, with a 50150 gender split were drawn using a stratified, random (probability) sampling method in order to allow for the legitimate use of the mathematics of probability as well as to avoid interviewer bias. The study group were interviewed, face-to-face, in home, in the preferred language from English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Tswana, North Sotho and South Sotho, by trained field workers. A minimum 20% back-check on each interviewer's work was undertaken to ensure reliability and validity of the data. The field worker used a pre-coded questionnaire that included seventeen food related questions designed by a multidisciplinary team of marketers, dietitians, nutritionists and research specialists. The food questions used a 5-point Likert scale in order to measure attitude. The data was captured (3 questionnaire were excluded due to being incorrectly filled in) and the computer software package STATISTICA@ Release 6, which was used to perform the statistical analysis. The data was data was weighted to represent the total metropolitan population prior to analysis. Quantitative data was statistically analysed in order to generate relevant descriptive statistics, cross tabulations and statistical tests. Results The study considered four variables; gender, race (Black, White, Coloured, Indian), age (16-29, 30-44,45+) and living standards measure (LSM 2-3, LSM 4-6, LSM 7-10), to explored four statements: 1. I believe food can have an effect on my health 2. 1 always look for health information contained on the packaging of food products 3. 1 don't take any notice of health information as it is only marketing hype 4. 1 buy food that claims to contribute to my health. The overall response to the belief that food can have an effect on health was positive (54%). There was no practical significant difference between age groups and genders but there were practical significant differences between Blacks and the other race groups (Blacks having the lowest belief in the food and health link) and between the highest LSM group and the other LSM groups (LSM 7-1 0 had the strongest belief in the link between food and health and this belief decreased with decreasing LSM). Forty-two percent of respondents always look for health information on the packaging of food, but there was no practical significant difference between all the variables, however women were more likely than men to always look for health information on food packaging. Over half the respondents (51%) stated that they look for health information and that it is not only marketing hype. There was a small practical significant difference between the top and the bottom LSM group with LSM 7-10 being less sceptical about the health information on food packaging. 67% buy foods that claim to beneffi their health and there was a small practical significant difference between Blacks and Whites, with more Blacks agreeing that they buy foods that claim to contribute to health. CONCLUSION Findings from this study indicate that adult metropolitan South Africans label reading practices are influenced by a number of factors including attitudes, beliefs and practices and that there are differences based on gender, race, age and LSM which must be considered by regulators in drafting food labelling regulations; the food industry when considering and developing functional foods; and nutrition experts when planning education strategies. Whilst the labelling of foods with health information and the development of function foods might indeed potentially empower consumers to effectively reduce their risk of many chronic diseases, on its own it is not enough. Nutrition education is vital and must be planned giving due consideration to the differences in belief and practices that exist within the different gender, race, age and LSM groups found in South Africa. Food consumption patterns are influenced by consumer attitudes, beliefs, needs, lifestyles and social trends and so more multi-disciplinary research in these fields must be encouraged to find ways to improve nutritional intakes that will lead to improved health for all South Africans. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The primary objective of this study was to apply the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasive communication to consumers' perceptions of food additive labelling. The model was used to explain how consumer information processing influences consumers' decision-making and consequent purchasing behaviour with regard to food products that contain food additives. To date, few studies have explained consumers' perceptions, viewpoints and understanding of additive labelling, or of their related purchasing behaviour. However, the increased marketing of processed foods containing additives and the concern expressed by consumers regarding the risks of additives call for the development of a theoretical basis for research into these issues. There is currently a lack of such data in South Africa. This study was conducted from a phenomenological qualitative approach with a descriptive exploratory nature. Eight focus group sessions with 39 food additive label readers were held in the Vanderbijlpark-Vereeniging area. A content analysis of the focus group discussions resulted in the categorising of concepts, and 33 subtle underlying themes were identified. The main findings of the study were that the participants' general perceptions suggested that food additives can be defined as unnatural chemical substances that are added to food and that hold some benefits and/or risks to the consumer. The participants' use of food additive information was influenced by the situational factors associated with each individual participant. Moreover, the participants were more aware of tartrazine, MSG and aspartame than of any other food additive. Participants were also confronted with various blocking mechanisms when searching for and selecting food products containing additives. These included a lack of standardisation of terminology, illegible ingredient listing, a lack of food control and regulation, information overload, incomprehensible information, manufacturers' dishonesty, time constraints and incorrect, untrustworthy, insufficient information. On the other hand, participants used various coping or risk-reducing strategies to reduce their concerns. In order to interpret the results, the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasive communication was adapted and applied to food additive labels. The adapted model illustrates how the consumers' perceptions of additive labels and their search for additional information influence their purchasing behaviour to varying extents. It is recommended that more attention be given to consumer education with regard to additive-related terminology used on food labels and that the results be put to use in the current revision of labelling regulations. Marketers and retailers could use the information to better understand the behaviour of consumers who read food additive labels. The value of this study was to show that consumers' prior perceptions of food additives are an important determinant of their purchasing behaviour, / Thesis (Ph.D. (Consumer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This thesis deals with the legal regulation of the food law in the Czech Republic and abroad, focusing on EU food law. Its aim is not only to provide an introduction to overall issue of food law by introducing the legal sources and their recent important amendments but also to focus on food labelling, legal aspects of nutrition and the food law in France. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Thesis (Ph.D. (Consumer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The primary objective of this study was to apply the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasive communication to consumers' perceptions of food additive labelling. The model was used to explain how consumer information processing influences consumers' decision-making and consequent purchasing behaviour with regard to food products that contain food additives. To date, few studies have explained consumers' perceptions, viewpoints and understanding of additive labelling, or of their related purchasing behaviour. However, the increased marketing of processed foods containing additives and the concern expressed by consumers regarding the risks of additives call for the development of a theoretical basis for research into these issues. There is currently a lack of such data in South Africa. This study was conducted from a phenomenological qualitative approach with a descriptive exploratory nature. Eight focus group sessions with 39 food additive label readers were held in the Vanderbijlpark-Vereeniging area. A content analysis of the focus group discussions resulted in the categorising of concepts, and 33 subtle underlying themes were identified. The main findings of the study were that the participants' general perceptions suggested that food additives can be defined as unnatural chemical substances that are added to food and that hold some benefits and/or risks to the consumer. The participants' use of food additive information was influenced by the situational factors associated with each individual participant. Moreover, the participants were more aware of tartrazine, MSG and aspartame than of any other food additive. Participants were also confronted with various blocking mechanisms when searching for and selecting food products containing additives. These included a lack of standardisation of terminology, illegible ingredient listing, a lack of food control and regulation, information overload, incomprehensible information, manufacturers' dishonesty, time constraints and incorrect, untrustworthy, insufficient information. On the other hand, participants used various coping or risk-reducing strategies to reduce their concerns. In order to interpret the results, the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasive communication was adapted and applied to food additive labels. The adapted model illustrates how the consumers' perceptions of additive labels and their search for additional information influence their purchasing behaviour to varying extents. It is recommended that more attention be given to consumer education with regard to additive-related terminology used on food labels and that the results be put to use in the current revision of labelling regulations. Marketers and retailers could use the information to better understand the behaviour of consumers who read food additive labels. The value of this study was to show that consumers' prior perceptions of food additives are an important determinant of their purchasing behaviour, / Thesis (Ph.D. (Consumer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-03-02T13:18:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 1718620 bytes, checksum: fb8bc76a2c3f0cc26b4489acaf18daf2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Clebson Anjos (clebson.leandro54@gmail.com) on 2016-03-09T22:00:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 1718620 bytes, checksum: fb8bc76a2c3f0cc26b4489acaf18daf2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Clebson Anjos (clebson.leandro54@gmail.com) on 2016-03-09T22:02:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 1718620 bytes, checksum: fb8bc76a2c3f0cc26b4489acaf18daf2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-09T22:03:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 1718620 bytes, checksum: fb8bc76a2c3f0cc26b4489acaf18daf2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Though the labels are rich in information, studies suggest that these are not made in favor of the consumer. This can make them vulnerable to advertising on food. One of the causes of this is the lack of the ability to find and process information efficiently – literacy. Therefore, this study aims at understanding how do the labels influence the consumer’s perception and decision making. In addition, two categories of products have been analyzed, so it can be verified if different product types are differently affected by the messages: a healthier product (cereal bar) and a less healthy one (chocolate cookies). Also, positive messages (advertisements) as well as negative messages (warnings) have been used. An online experiment with 6 different treatments was performed. Data from each group were compared with the non-parametric tests Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis, with the Dunn’s technique for paired comparisons. The t-test (parametric) was also used for the analysis. With more than 300 respondents, it can be inferred that advertisements have a positive effect on any product, but the warning had no effect on the cookies. Cereal bars can benefit from advertisements, but not as much as the cookies. As for price, only the cookie with the advertisement achieved a significantly higher result, indicating that people are more attracted, and could pay more, for these kinds of products when they come with propaganda. To test this assumption in a more realistic environment, cookies were sold for college students. Almost half of the sample of 38 students preferred the more expensive cookies (carrying advertisement), even though both products (with/without propaganda) had identical back-ofpackage information and design. Only few individuals were able to find and interpret the back-of-package information. Those who bought the most expensive product justified themselves saying that the product was nutritionally better. It is suggested that further studies on labeling seek to be more realistic, and that industries and governments should be more concerned on how the consumer understands the labels. Especially for the companies, it should not be the goal of its investigations solely which formats sell more, but which label formats are more efficient to inform the consumer. / Apesar de os rótulos serem ricos em informações, estudos sugerem que estes não são feitos para o benefício do consumidor. Isso pode torná-los vulneráveis às mensagens publicitárias nos alimentos. Uma das causas é a falta de capacidade em encontrar e processar informações eficientemente – a literacia. Por isso, este estudo busca entender como as informações dos rótulos interferem na percepção e tomada de decisão dos consumidores. Ainda, duas categorias de produtos são analisadas, para que possa verificar se diferentes tipos de produto são diferentemente afetados pelas mensagens: um produto mais saudável (barra de cereal) e um menos saudável (biscoito de chocolate). Ademais, tanto mensagens positivas (propagandas) quanto negativas (alertas) foram usadas. Um experimento online com 6 diferentes tratamentos foi realizado. Os dados de cada grupo foram comparados com os testes não-paramétricos de Mann-Whitney U e Kruskal-Wallis, com aplicação da técnica de Dunn para comparações em pares. Paralelamente usou-se, ainda, o teste t (paramétrico) nas análises. Com mais de 300 respondentes, pode-se inferir que as propagandas têm um efeito positivo em qualquer produto, mas os alertas não tiveram nenhum efeito nos biscoitos. Barras de cereal se beneficiam de propagandas, mas menos que os biscoitos. Quanto à estimativa de preço, apenas o biscoito com propaganda conseguiu resultado significativamente maior, indicando que as pessoas têm mais atração, e podem estar dispostas a pagar mais por esses produtos, quando estes vêm propaganda. Para testar essa suposição num ambiente mais realista, biscoitos foram colocados à venda para alunos universitários. Quase metade da amostra de 38 alunos preferiu os biscoitos mais caros (com propaganda), apesar de os rótulos traseiros serem idênticos. Poucos foram capazes de acessar e decodificar as informações do rótulo traseiro. Todos os que compraram o mais caro se justificaram dizendo que o produto seria melhor nutricionalmente. Sugere-se que estudos futuros sobre rotulagem busquem sempre se aproximar da realidade, e que indústrias e governos se preocupem mais em como o consumidor compreende os rótulos. Para as empresas não deveria ser meta de suas investigações apenas os formatos que vendem mais, mas sim, os formatos de rótulo que informem melhor o consumidor.

Thesis (MTech (Consumer Science: Food and Nutrition))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Objective: To determine whether nutritional information provision would influence the choice of a popular fast food by young adults employed in the City of Cape Town, South Africa (SA), within the professional and clerk occupational classifications as consumer group, using a beef burger as exploratory item. Methodology: A survey, in the form of a self-administered questionnaire comprising closedended multiple-choice questions, was used to obtain information on the respondent fast food consumption, fast food consumption on nutritional information provision using a beef burger as exploratory item, demographic, biographic and lifestyle characteristics, and eating practices. Through the purchasing of beef burgers across four major leading fast food franchises located within the Western Cape, and specifically those based in the City of Cape Town competitive in this fast food category, information pertaining to beef burger ingredients and the individual ingredient weights were obtained, to compile 16 representative beef burger-types to be presented in the questionnaire. Beef burgers were presented as two menu-options (i.e. the first containing energy provision alone, vs. the second containing extended nutritional information as energy, total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol provision) within the questionnaire, to obtain information on whether nutritional information provision would influence the respondents’ choice, and if so, which provision would do so. The questionnaire was assessed for content- and face-validity by an expert panel, and on the research receiving ethics approval, piloted and adapted before being distributed. Questionnaires were distributed according to the respondent preference for ease of use as either a hard printed copy or an electronic questionnaire. This was done via means of purposive and convenience sampling and by way of snowball sampling, to obtain young adults aged 20 to 34 years who were consumers of fast food and specifically beef burgers, within the selected occupational classifications working for small- to medium-sized companies in the City of Cape Town. Via the Pearson’s chi-squared and Fisher’s exact test and a logistic regression (Wald chisquare statistic) applied on the analysis, the factors to significantly influence the respondents to change their beef burger choice on the nutritional information provison were determined. Results: The final sample consisted of 157 respondents. A near-even split occurred between the respondents who would (52.2%) and wouldn’t (47.8%) be influenced by the nutritional information provision. Of the respondents who indicated that they would be influenced, the extended nutritional information provision had the highest influence. Twelve factors comprising a combination of the respondent biographic and lifestyle characteristics (n = 2), eating practices (n = 7), and fast food consumption (n = 3), were found to significantly (p < 0.05) influence the respondent choice of a beef burger on the nutritional information provision, and on application of the logistic regression, one factor strongly (p < 0.001) in each of the three domains. Of the respondents who indicated that they would not be influenced, more than half (54.4%) gave their reason as even though they were aware, or had an idea of the nutritional content of burgers, that they would still purchase their original choice even if the nutritional information was available, followed by one-quarter (25%) who indicated that they did not understand nutritional information. Conclusions: Extended nutritional information provision was found to positively influence a popular fast food choice among young adults employed within the City of Cape Town, SA, with health-consciousness being the overall factor identified to influence the choice of a healthier option on the nutritional information provision, as the identified significant factors were all related to health-conscious consumer attributes.

Denna studie undersöker hur märkning på livsmedelsförpackningar kan göras tydligare för personer med nötallergi. Tidigare studier visar att det finns brister i dagens märkningar och att detta i sin tur skapar problem. Därför har denna studie som avsikt att ta reda på hur allergeninformation för nötallergiker kan förbättras och göras tydligare. Detta tillämpas genom att studiens forskare tar fram ett designförslag som ska komplettera obligatorisk märkning på livsmedelsförpackningar. För att ta reda på hur detta designförslag ska utformas inleds designprocessen med en litteraturstudie och där en cross-case-analys genomförs. Genom denna analys hittas trender och mönster i tidigare studier. Därefter tillämpas en design space-analys där trenderna, olika designprinciper samt forskarnas egna kunskaper kombineras för att utforska olika designalternativ. Alternativ som i slutändan skapar en grund för en design. Studiens forskare skapar symboler, närmare bestämt piktogram. Eftersom jordnötsallergi och nötallergi är olika typer av allergier skapas två stycken piktogram. Piktogrammen, som är cirkelformade, får ett varnande budskap som förmedlas med hjälp av färgerna gul och svart. Piktogrammen utvärderas och testas genom att fem personliga intervjuer genomförs. Intervjuerna görs med personer som är allergiska mot jordnötter och/eller nötter. Forskarna testar piktogrammen genom att placera dem på en livsmedelsförpackning och ställer sedan frågor om bl.a. första intryck, färger och placering. Analysen visar att piktogram mycket väl kan användas som kompletterande märkning på livsmedelsförpackningar. Vidare konstateras det att valet av färg inverkar på den association som sändaren vill förmedla. Intervjuerna visar även att piktogrammen fördelaktigt kan placeras på förpackningens framsida. Studiens syfte har uppnåtts till viss mån, då intervjuerna visar att det ena piktogrammet behöver utvecklas för att tydligare kommunikation för nötallergiker ska kunna skapas.