A need exists to assist South Africans to make better informed food choices. The
food label has the potential to assist consumers during food purchasing; however, consumers
should be able to understand and use the information provided on food labels. Objective: To
investigate adult consumers' understanding regarding the information on food labels and to
determine whether they use the information on food labels in making food choices. Design: A
cross-sectional and descriptive research approach was followed and data were collected by
means of questionnaires. Combined stratified and judgemental sampling methods recruited 174
respondents involved in the purchasing of household food products. Setting: Selected
supermarkets in Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp in the North West Province, South Africa, were
targeted. Subjects: Consumers of African descent and Caucasian consumers, 18 years or older,
who are involved in the purchasing of household food products. Results: Information mostly
used on food labels includes the expiry date, ingredient list and nutritional information, such as
fat and cholesterol content. Consistently, greater use of "low in fat" and "low in cholesterol"
nutrient content claims were cited. Difficulties associated with food labels were mainly indicated
as the font size of the print, whereas reasons for not reading food labels were related to product
attributes, demographic characteristics and situational factors. Conclusions: Findings indicate
that the food choices of the majority of respondents who read food labels are influenced by the
information on the food label, although respondents' understanding of the information revealed
an inability to apply food label information to make food choices. Reasons for not reading food
labels included opinions like the "taste and price are more important than the nutritional content
of the food product", "experiencing time constraints", and "lack of education and nutritional
knowledge". This study highlighted barriers in consumers' understanding and use of information
on food labels. Improvements to the current food labels in South Africa are suggested, as well as
guidelines for consumer education regarding the use of food labels. / Thesis (M. Consumer Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/6588 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Jacobs, Sunelle Agnes |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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