Food Labelling Policies - Essay Example

Table of Contents Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 2 2 Food Labelling Policies 3 3 Consumer Attitudes towards Food Labelling 44 Consumer Survey 5 5 Conclusion 8 Bibliography 10 Executive Summary Food labelling is mandatory in most countries and is rationalised by the consumers' right to know, on the one hand, and health and dietary reasons, on the other. For the purposes of determining whether or not consumers read and understand food labels, the researchers conducted a survey in which 54 respondents participated. The survey, in addition to the literature reviewed in this study, suggest that the majority of consumers do not read food labels most of the time. 1 Introduction Food labels are costly, as its opponents are quite fond of reminding consumers, and unnecessary. They add about 3 pence to the cost of a food package and are hardly glanced over by consumers (Miller, 1999; Mother Earth, 2002; Greider, 2003). Even while conceding to the fact that most consumers probably do not read food labels and labels add to the cost of foods, there is a strong rationale for labelling. Food labelling provides consumers with a breakdown of the primary ingredients and composites contained in a food product and, of course, its calorific value. More recently, and as a result of growing health awareness, carbohydrate value was added to food labels (Charles, 2001). There are several reasons for the mandatory labelling of food products, the majority of which derive from the notion of the right to know and from health issues. As regards the first, consumers have a right to know the composition of the food products they are purchasing so that they can make an informed purchase decision. As regards the second, food labelling information is imperative for the millions who suffer allergies, have health issues or are required to adhere to a certain diet. In other words, the value and importance of labelling can hardly be overstated, especially when considering that allergies can be fatal. Therefore, there is a strong reason and specific purpose for mandatory food labelling but the question is whether or not the purpose of food labelling is satisfied. 2 Food Labelling Policies Although most all countries have food labelling policies, the nature of these policies differs from country to country and region to region. According to Weirich (2007) some countries do not have national laws mandating food labelling while others have made the comprehensive listing of all ingredients and composites, a non-negotiable imperative. In the Middle East, and in compliance with both national laws and international standards, the nutritional information of foods is clearly stated on labels printed onto, and not stuck on, food packages. The mandated information is calorific value, nutritional value, ingredients and additives (Weirich, 2007). Laws in the United States have made the listing of all ingredients, additives, nutritional values and calorific value imperative. Again, labels are printed onto and not stuck on the packages for the purposes of avoiding any possibility of tampering with the labels (Weirich, 2007). The European Union has, by far, the most stringent of the food labelling policies. According to Summers (2007), EU food labelling policies mandate the inclusion of all information related to nutritional and calorific value, ingredients and additives and, importantly, a clear indication of whether any GM ingredients had entered into the making of the product in question (Summers, 2007). While much of the information printed onto these labels tends to escape the understanding of consumers as it is highly scientific, it is still important. Its importance stems from the fact that consumers who suffer from specific allergies will be able to, when reading the label, determine whether the food is safe for their consumption or not. Its importance is also due to the fact that food labelling provides diabetics and obese consumers with the information they need for the limitation of their intake of a particular food type/ingredient (Summer, 2007). As indicated in the preceding overview of food labelling policies, most countries mandate, at the very least, a listing of nutritional, calorific, additive and ingredient information. Other countries, such as the European Union block, have mandated a more comprehensive food labelling policy because of a fundamental belief, not just in the right to know, but in the right of consumers to have access to all information which may affect their purchase decision. From this perspective, therefore, comprehensive labelling promotes infinitely more informed consumer decision making, at least according to Summers (2007). 3 Consumer Attitudes towards Food Labelling Several researchers have suggested, on the basis of either survey studies they had conducted or secondary data, that consumers do not comprehend much of the data on food labels (Nelson, 2001; Bernauer, 2003; Weirich, 2007; Summers, 2007). Consumers who are allergic to specific food types and ingredients or who have someone in their household who is, may quickly skim over food labels in order to determine the presence or absence of the allergen (Jeon, 2005). Similarly, diabetic consumers and others suffering from a specific ailment which necessitates the avoidance of certain ingredients, will skim over the labels. Obese consumers generally tend to look only at the calorific and carbohydrate information (Jeon, 2005). The implication here is that much of the information displayed on the labels is overlooked by consumers and, if read by them, often is incomprehensible. Added to that, the research literature further indicates that those who do read the labels only skim over them very quickly in search of very specific information (Jeon, 2005; Weirich, 2007). The literature on consumer attitudes towards, and use of, food labels, leads to a very interesting and important conclusion. While food labels are supposed to contribute to a more informed purchase decision, they do not. The reason why they do not is that consumers have tremendous difficulty in understanding these labels as they use highly technical and scientific terms. Therefore, this particular food labelling purpose is not satisfied because consumers do not understand the labels. The second purpose, possibly the more important one, of food labels is, conversely, satisfied. Consumers who have particular health or dietary issues and concerns very quickly read over the food labels to determine whether the product is safe for their consumption or not. In other words, even though food labels do not contribute to a more informed purchase decision, they provide health and nutrition-conscious consumers with the information they need. They are, thus, important in this regard. 4 Consumer Survey For the purposes of determining whether or not the findings of the literature review were accurate and, possibly, shedding additional light on the question of consumer usage of food labelling information, a survey was conducted. The researchers designed a 6-question, closed-ended, survey questionnaire. The questionnaire, which only took a couple of minutes to answer, was distributed among 54 people at neighbourhood supermarket outlets. Each member of the research group stood outside a previously agreed upon and designated supermarket, approached shoppers entering the supermarket, explained the purpose of the study to them and asked them to participate in the survey. It should be noted that the participation request was made as people were entering, as opposed to leaving, the supermarkets. The reason was that the researchers had assumed that those leaving the supermarket may be carrying heavy bags and would not be willing to put them down to answer the survey questionnaire. By pursuing this strategy for respondent recruitment, the researchers were able to obtain 54 completed questionnaires. The results of the questionnaires are depicted in the figures below. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 As evidenced in the above figures, the findings of the primary data support those of the secondary data. The primary determinants of the purchase decision are taste and price, rather than nutritional information. Indeed, it is quite interesting to note that these two determinants have very little to do with the information printed on the food labels. The fact that consumers do not pay much attention to food labels is further evidenced through the fact that only 7% of the respondents stated that they "always" read the nutrition label and 11% said that they never did. Indeed, a total of 60% of the respondents either sometimes or never read the nutrition labels. On the contingency that they read the nutrition label, respondents revealed that they primarily did so to obtain fat and calorific information. The implication here is that consumers rarely read the food labels and if they do, skim over them in search of specific information. Hence, the findings of the primary data are comparable to those of the secondary data. 5 Conclusion Food label information, as argued in this report, is important. The information contained in food labels has highly pertinent nutritional and health related information. Consumers would, undoubtedly, benefit from reading these labels but the fact is that, even if they do, they will have difficulty comprehending these labels. Accordingly, and in order to ensure that food labels satisfy their purposes, two recommendations can be made. The first is to unify food labelling standards to ensure consumer familiarity with the labels. The second is to employ clearly comprehensible symbols, in addition to written text. For example, if the product contains any known allergens, there should be an allergy warning symbol; if it is high in fats and calories, it should display a symbol warning of that; and if it is high in vitamins and healthy, there should be a symbol communicating this information. The use of symbols would, eventually, allow consumers to gather all pertinent food information in a glance and make a health-conscious and informed purchase decision. Bibliography Bemauer, T. (2003) Genes, Trade and Regulation: The Seeds of Conflict in Food Biotechnology. New York: Princeton University Press. Charles, D. (2001) Lord of the Harvest. Cambridge: Perseus Press. Jeon, J. (2005) Analysing Food for Nutrition Labelling and Hazardous Contaminants. New York: CRC. Nelson, G.C. (2001) Genetically Modified Organisms in Agriculture, Economics and Politics. New Jersey: Academic Press. Greider, W. (2003) A high level food fight. Nation, 277(14), 16-17. Miller, H. (1999) A rational approach to labeling biotech-derived foods. Science, 284(5419), 1471-1472. Mother Earth (2002) Our right to know. Mother Earth News, 194. Summers, J.L. (2007) Food Labelling Compliance Review. London: Wiley-Blackwell. Weirich, P. (2007) Labelling Genetically Modified Food: The Philosophical and Legal Debate. London: Oxford University Press. Read More