Consumer Perception of Front Side Nutrition Labels

Tóth, Ildikó – Szakály, Zoltán

Keywords: food marketing, nutrition labels, food choices JEL: R20

DOI: https://doi.org/10.53079/GAZDALKODAS.67.4.t.pp_325-337
One of the most important pillars of a healthy lifestyle is healthy nutritional value, in which FOP nutrition labels can support consumers in making the right decision. Nutrition-related diseases of civilization are a worldwide problem. A healthy diet is essential for the overall well-being and the prevention of many chronic diseases. Special attention must be paid to the use of FOP nutrition values in order to prevention and healthy decision-making. It is important that people can interpret the nutritional quality of foods as easily as possible. The packaging has to provide realistic and accurate information about the product. Nutrition labelling systems on packaging are supported by the public as a way of informing consumers and are accepted as an authentic source of information. Based on research, nutritional labelling systems placed on food packaging encourage consumers to prefer the "healthier" version, thus supporting a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Based on the focus group interviews, it can be stated that consumers with different health behaviours have different opinions not only about nutrition, but also about foods, their packaging and labels. The members of the preventive health group already behave more consciously when shopping, they spend more time looking at food labels, and they find the nutritional value labels on the front of the packaging familiar and a reliable source. In the non-aware group, they spend less time checking the labels, they are not familiar with the FOP nutrition labels on the front of the package, but they evaluate the labels positively. Based on the focus group interviews, it can be concluded that the introduction of front-of-pack labelling systems needs to be accompanied by a broad consumer education campaign to inform the public about how to understand and use the labels.
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