Consumers' use, understanding and perception of food labels

Abstract

Consumers can use front of pack (FOP) guideline daily amount (GDA) or traffic light (TL) signposting and the back of pack (BOP) nutritional panel to compare products across different brands (1) . Food labelling can also encourage food manufacturers to develop healthier products (2) . However, information other than the FOP and BOP nutritional information is available for consumers to use when deciding what to purchase. The different information presented may have varying effects on peoples' judgements about the product, leading to different purchasing habits (3) . Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess whether different food brands, of the same product category and different nutritional information, had an effect on consumers ranking of healthiness and tastiness of the product, leading to intention to purchase the product. A convenience sample of 108 adults (55 males, 53 females) was recruited from a town centre and were presented with packaging from four spaghetti Bolognese own-brand ready-meals from a well-known retailer, consisting of a 'basics', 'mid-range', 'healthy' and 'luxury' range. First, the front labels of the four products were presented with no nutritional information and the participants were asked to rank 1–4 in order of healthiness, tastiness and which they would be most likely to purchase. Next, the BOP nutrition panel that belonged to each product was presented without any other packaging and they were asked the same three questions. Finally, they were presented with the TL FOP without any other packaging and asked the same questions. The number/percentage of respondents who ranked the product as the most healthy/tasty and also chose it as the one they were most likely to purchase is presented in the table below. Product range Ranked most healthy Ranked most tasty Purchase intention Label N (%) BOP N (%) FOP N (%) Label N (%) BOP N (%) FOP N (%) Label N (%) BOP N (%) FOP N (%)