Consumer attitudes to nutrition labelling

1. British Food Journal
Consumer attitudes to nutrition labelling
Angela Shine Seamus O’Reilly Kathleen O’Sullivan
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Angela Shine Seamus O’Reilly Kathleen O’Sullivan, (1997),"Consumer attitudes to nutrition labelling", British Food Journal,
Vol. 99 Iss 8 pp. 283 - 289
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George Baltas, (2001),"Nutrition labelling: issues and policies", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 Iss 5/6 pp. 708-721
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C.S. Higginson, T.R. Kirk, M.J. Rayner, S. Draper, (2002),"How do consumers use nutrition label information?", Nutrition
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2. [ 283 ]
British Food Journal
99/8 [1997] 283–289
© MCB University Press
[ISSN 0007-070X]
Consumer attitudes to nutrition labelling
Angela Shine
Previously a Postgraduate Researcher, University College, Cork, Ireland
Seamus O’Reilly
Lecturer in the Department of Food Economics, University College, Cork, Ireland
Kathleen O’Sullivan
Lecturer in the Department of Statistics, University College, Cork, Ireland
Research findings have sug-
gested that today’s consumers
view nutrition in a positive
light. The findings of this
survey support such evidence.
The majority of consumers
consider diet to be a very
important component of their
lifestyles and regard nutrition
as a positive attribute of food
products. A high level of
awareness of nutrition
labelling is evident among
consumers, and 58 per cent of
respondents use nutrition
labels. However, consumers
have to reduce information
from nutrition labels in their
current format. This proves
rather difficult as knowledge
of a balanced diet is quite low.
Therefore, consumers find it
difficult to implement current
dietary advice through the use
of nutrition labels, and only 17
per cent of the sample sur-
veyed use labels for this pur-
pose. Social networks and the
“popular” media were found
to be the most used sources of
nutrition information, the
medical profession was seen
as a source of “cure” rather
than prevention and a negligi-
ble percentage of the sample
used official government
information channels. Con-
cludes that nutrition labels
have a role to play; however,
the food industry needs to
respond to consumer needs
and education/information
provision needs to be
improved.
Introduction
The phrase “You are what you eat” is literally
true. Food contains a variety of nutrients
which are essential if our bodies are to func-
tion effectively. Nutrients are required to
perform a particular role(s) in the body
including growth and repair, heat and energy
and protection from disease. It is important
that the food we eat provides a combination of
nutrients.
Nutrition labelling is not mandatory at
present; therefore, consumers rely on food
producers to inform them about the nutri-
tional content of their products. Food compa-
nies can satisfy consumer demand for nutri-
tional information by including such infor-
mation on labels. Have food companies taken
responsibility in informing consumers about
the nutritional content of their food products?
Are they using nutrition labelling as merely a
promotional tool? Are consumers obtaining
the maximum benefit from nutrition
labelling provided by the food industry?
This study investigates consumer attitude
to nutrition, to establish whether nutrition
plays an important role in people’s daily
lifestyle. On this basis, the relationship
between consumer attitude and use of nutri-
tion labels has been examined. An investiga-
tion of consumers’ knowledge of nutrition
was carried out to assess consumers’ ability
to read nutrition labels and use them in an
effective manner. The study also examines
the association between knowledge of nutri-
tion and use of nutrition labelling.
Consumers and nutritional issues
Attitudes to nutrition
Changing needs and lifestyle, the link
between diet and disease, dietary guidelines
and media attention have stimulated interest
in nutrition (Richardson, 1990). Trends in
society have an influential effect on
consumer choice and demand. Healthy living
is a term frequently used, with the benefits of
exercise, a healthy diet, reduction of alcohol
and stress management continuously
stressed by experts in the fields of nutrition
and medicine. Life expectancy has increased
and people want to lead an active and healthy
lifestyle in the latter part of their lives. The
growing incidence of chronic disease as a
major cause of death in today’s society has
increased research interest in this area.
Although mainly based on epidemiological
studies, such research has emphasized the
relationship between diet and disease. This
has caused concern among consumers, moti-
vating them to become aware of their dietary
requirements. Dietary guidelines have been
introduced in an effort to tackle these prob-
lems.
A myriad of events has led to the presenta-
tion of nutrition information on food product
labels – for example, in the US the White
House Conference on Food, Nutrition and
Health was held in 1969, and the subsequent
Food Labelling Regulations were introduced
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
in 1973. At the European level, a Council
Directive on the approximation of laws of
member states relating to foodstuffs for par-
ticular nutritional uses was introduced in
1977. This was the first attempt by the Euro-
pean community to provide nutritional infor-
mation on food products. This legislation was
directed solely at foodstuffs manufactured for
special dietary purposes. This was followed
in 1979 by the Council Directive on the
approximation of laws of member states,
concerning the labelling, presentation and
advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ulti-
mate consumer. This Directive was intro-
duced to ensure that labelling on food prod-
ucts would not mislead the consumer. The UK
was one of the main instigators of the devel-
opment of nutrition labelling within the
European Community. Publication of the
National Advisory Committee on Nutrition
Education (NACE) report in 1983 and the
Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy
(COMA) report in 1984 outlined quantified
dietary guidelines.
However, in the context of food and nutri-
tion, the “popular” media are undoubtedly
one of the most powerful forces. Their
attempt to influence their audiences quite
often succeed. Marks (1993) observed, “Peo-
ple’s preoccupation with food nutrition
[emanates from] intense commercial pres-
sure to buy “healthy” food [and the fact that]
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3. [ 284 ]
Angela Shine, Seamus O’Reilly
and Kathleen O’Sullivan
Consumer attitudes to
nutrition labelling
British Food Journal
99/8 [1997] 283–289
expectations of health are so much higher” (p.
4). However, the prevailing problem with such
media attention is that of misinformation.
Food and nutrition messages repeatedly pre-
sent an unbalanced view, accentuating the
positive elements, while avoiding the nega-
tive.
Increased interest in nutrition has
prompted consumers to evaluate their diet
and lifestyles. Surveys carried out by the US
Food Marketing Institute (United States Food
Marketing Institute, 1990; 1994) and the Amer-
ican Dietetic Association and International
Food Information Council (1990) have
revealed positive attitudes to nutrition and
growing awareness and interest in nutrition.
Increasing emphasis on nutrition has drawn
consumers’ attention to the acquisition of
nutritional information. While attitudes to
nutrition are positive, it is evident from stud-
ies conducted that consumers are more con-
cerned about nutrients they wish to avoid
rather than attaining a balanced diet. The
findings of a survey conducted by the Ameri-
can Dietetic Association (1993) highlighted
the ineffectiveness of nutritional messages
conveyed to the general public. These results
indicate that the general public experience
great difficulty in interpreting recommended
guidelines. Harper (1993, p. 31) observes, “the
changing concepts in dietary advice have
obviously created confusion and apprehen-
sion among the public”.
A similar positive attitude to nutrition can
be found in Ireland. In 1980, a survey of spe-
cific consumer groups in Ireland, including
mothers, adolescents and the elderly, identi-
fied “a positive attitude to more and better
nutritional information” (McSweeney and
Kevany, 1980, p. 26). The more recent findings
of a survey cited by Nutriscan and Henley
Centre (1993) in Ireland supported this evi-
dence. Consumers’ interest in diet and health
has led to the assessment of food products
they purchase and consume, resulting in a
demand for information about the nutritional
content of food. Increasingly, these
consumers look to the food label for such
information (Richardson, 1993).
Understanding nutrition
There has been a dramatic increase in con-
sumer understanding of nutritional issues
over the past two decades. In the 1970s, con-
sumers exhibited low levels of comprehen-
sion of nutrition information presented on
food labels (Jacoby et al., 1977; Lenahan et al.,
1972). However, consumer knowledge about
nutritional issues increased during the 1980s.
A survey carried out in the UK by the Con-
sumer Association, National Consumer
Council and the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food (1985) found that respon-
dents understood the meaning of terms such
as calories, fat, iron, etc. Furthermore, 72 per
cent of respondents favoured nutrition
labelling. However, despite this increasing
knowledge of nutrition, consumers were not
familiar with terms such as kilocalorie (69
per cent), transfatty acids (82 per cent) and
percentage of RDA – recommended daily
allowance (96 per cent). A more recent study
conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food (1995) in England and
Northern Ireland revealed a greater under-
standing of nutrition labels. However, while
terms such as “calories” and “salt” were
understood, “energy” and “sodium” were not.
Furthermore, only one in ten respondents
understood the term RDA. Despite the
increase in knowledge of nutrition,
consumers’ ability to interpret nutrition
information on labels was found to be limited
in a study conducted by the Coronary Preven-
tion Group (1992) in the UK. Investigating
consumers’ ability to use nutrition labels,
they found that the majority of respondents
could not follow a balanced diet through the
use of numerical formats, which typically
constitutes current nutritional labelling.
They found that difficulties arose because the
majority of consumers surveyed could not
deduce from these figures the level of nutri-
ents in a product in relation to their dietary
guidelines. Respondents found that adjectival
descriptors, for example “medium”, were
easier to use.
The specialists’ perspective
In 1993, a survey carried out by the American
Meat Institute in the US (1993) assessed the
attitudes to nutrition labelling held by health
professionals, including physicians, dieti-
cians, nutritionists and contributors to the
1988 Surgeon General’s report on nutrition
and health. The response from these profes-
sionals supported the use of food labels to
assist consumers follow a balanced diet.
Morris (1991) advocates the need for nutri-
tion information on food products. He argues
that nutrition labelling assists consumers in
their quest to obtain optimal intake of nutri-
ents. Lewis et al. (1994) also support such
views. They view the nutrition label as a
means of bridging the gap between general
dietary guidelines and specific food choices.
Hence, they consider the nutrition label as a
means of implementing dietary recommenda-
tions. Similarly, Gourlie (1995) believes that
nutrition labelling will act as a link between
the scientific community and the consumer.
Gourlie claims that special interest groups
and the “popular” media do not offer the
consumer a balanced view of nutrition, and
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4. [ 285 ]
Angela Shine, Seamus O’Reilly
and Kathleen O’Sullivan
Consumer attitudes to
nutrition labelling
British Food Journal
99/8 [1997] 283–289
argues that the nutrition label has a role in
the provision of information given that a
clear, accurate and uniformly consistent label
is provided.
On the other hand, Stare (1993, p. 37) ques-
tions the effectiveness of nutrition labelling.
He claims that education is the key to the
improvement of an individual’s health. In his
opinion, “if nutrition education is properly
developed it may be unnecessary to have
‘newly labelled products’, certainly not exten-
sive labelling, possibly no nutrition
labelling”.
This study set out to examine Irish con-
sumer interest in nutrition labelling. It seeks
to:
• establish consumer attitudes to nutrition;
• establish consumer knowledge of nutrition;
• determine the extent to which consumers
search out nutritional information on food
products;
• establish if there is a relationship between
the use of nutrition information provided
on food product labels and demographic
characteristics.
Methods
The nature of the problem being investigated
influenced the choice of research site. As
nutrition labelling is provided on food prod-
ucts at the point of purchase, consumers’
involvement in the purchase of food products,
either for themselves or household members,
was an essential criterion influencing sam-
pling technique. Therefore, the most efficient
method of ensuring this was to conduct the
survey in a food retail outlet environment.
Retail outlets were chosen by a random
sampling method from all food retailers listed
in the Cork City and County telephone direc-
tory. A total of four supermarkets were cho-
sen, two located in Cork City and two in Cork
County. A general profile of customer shop-
ping patterns was obtained from store man-
agers and from observation during a pilot
survey. On the basis of this information, the
survey was carried out at different times of
the day to ensure a representative sample. A
total of 200 respondents were interviewed, 50
from each retail outlet. The interview proce-
dure was carried out at the same time on the
same days in each outlet to ensure a system-
atic collection of data. Within the supermar-
ket a random probability sampling technique
was employed. A structured questionnaire
was used, which took the form of a series of
attitude, knowledge and behavioural ques-
tions. A total of 27 questions were included in
the questionnaire, some of which were
divided into subsections and both open-ended
and closed questions were used. Question-
naires were analysed using SPSS; both
descriptive statistics (frequency tables) and
inferential statistics (chi-square tests) were
employed.
Findings
Profile of respondents
The profile of consumers surveyed is pre-
sented in Table I. The majority of respondents
were female, while 37 per cent were male.
Even though there has been an increase in
the number of men involved in household
shopping, more women are still responsible
for this. Respondents varied in age, ranging
from 18 to over 55. The majority were aged
between 25 and 40 years old. Most had
received secondary education, with 45 per
cent having obtained tertiary education. A
representative range of socio-economic
grouping was obtained within the sample.
Slightly more than half of the sample were
married and the size of household ranged
from one to more than five members. Thirty-
two per cent of the respondents or members
of their household followed special diets.
The factors which differentiate those who
read nutrition labels from those who do not
include gender and education levels. Respon-
dents who read nutrition labels tend to be
female and have completed tertiary education.
Table I
Consumer profile (n = 200)
Factor n Percentage
Gender Male 74 37
Female 126 63
Age 18-24 44 22
25-40 79 39
41-45 43 22
55+ 34 17
Educational level Primary 10 5
Secondary 101 50
Tertiary 89 45
Socio-economic status AB 29 14
C1 67 34
C2 55 27
DE 49 25
Marital status Married 108 54
Not married 92 46
Children Yes 106 53
No 94 47
Household size 1 22 11
2 32 16
3 25 13
4 45 22
5+ 76 38
Special dietary needs Yes 63 32
within the household No 137 68
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5. [ 286 ]
Angela Shine, Seamus O’Reilly
and Kathleen O’Sullivan
Consumer attitudes to
nutrition labelling
British Food Journal
99/8 [1997] 283–289
Variables which were found not to have an
effect on respondents’ use of nutrition labels
include age, socio-economic status, marital
status, children in the household and house-
hold size. The results of the consumer survey
revealed that 58 per cent of the sample claim
to read nutrition labels. (It should be noted
that the purposeful selection of primary buy-
ers for the household is likely to result in a
higher percentage taking note of nutritional
labels than would be the case for the general
population.)
Consumer attitudes to nutrition
A number of factors were examined to deter-
mine if nutrition is viewed by consumers in a
positive or negative light. The relationship
between attitudes to nutrition and nutrition
labelling were also investigated. As is evident
from Table II the majority of respondents
express a positive attitude towards nutrition.
When asked to rate their opinion of diet as
part of their lifestyle, only 3 per cent
responded negatively. A significant relation-
ship was found to exist between attitudes to
diet and use of nutrition labelling. Almost
two-thirds of those who read nutrition labels
strongly agree that diet is an important part
of their lifestyle. The majority of respondents
perceive nutritional content as an important
attribute of a food product. A significant asso-
ciation was found between attitude to nutri-
tional content and reading nutritional labels.
The results indicated that 46 per cent of
respondents view nutritional content of food
products as being very important, 49 per cent
agree that it is important, while 5 per cent
dismiss this statement as unimportant. Fifty-
four per cent of respondents who read nutri-
tion labels regard the nutritional content of
food products as very important, while the
corresponding figure is slightly over one-
third for those who do not read such labels.
Furthermore, a significant association was
found between attitudes to the diet-disease
relationship and use of nutrition labelling,
with half of those who read such labels
strongly agreeing that there is a relationship
between diet and disease, while the corre-
sponding figure was 24 per cent for those who
do not (see Figure 1).
Consumers’ willingness to learn more
about nutrition was evaluated to assess peo-
ple’s interest and enthusiasm about nutri-
tion. Respondents were asked to indicate
whether they would be interested in obtain-
ing further information about this subject.
Twenty-one per cent were very interested, 60
per cent expressed interest, while 19 per cent
were not interested. Respondents who are
interested in obtaining more information are
more likely to use nutrition information
labels. Ninety-two per cent of respondents
who read these labels are interested in learn-
ing more about nutrition.
Consumers’ knowledge of nutrition
When asked to rate their knowledge of nutri-
tion, most respondents claimed to possess a
fair (41 per cent) or good (38 per cent) knowl-
edge of nutrition. A smaller percentage
placed themselves at either extreme; 15 per
cent believing they had a poor level of
knowledge and 6 per cent claiming they had
Table II
Consumer attitude to nutrition
Attitudes to nutrition Agree (%) Disagree (%)
Diet is an important part of
lifestyle 97 3
Nutrition content of food
products is important 95 5
Relationship between diet
and disease 87 13
Increased in learning more
about nutrition 81 19
Figure 2
Perceived level of knowledge of nutrition
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Poor Fair Good Excellent
Percentage
Key
Read labels
Do not read labels
Figure 1
Attitudes to diet-disease relationship
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Percentage
Key
Read labels
Do not read labels
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6. [ 287 ]
Angela Shine, Seamus O’Reilly
and Kathleen O’Sullivan
Consumer attitudes to
nutrition labelling
British Food Journal
99/8 [1997] 283–289
an excellent knowledge of nutrition. A signifi-
cant relationship between a respondent’s
perceived knowledge of nutrition and use of
nutrition labels was found – over half of those
who read labels believe that they have an
excellent or good knowledge.
For the purposes of investigating
consumers’ knowledge of the nutrient compo-
nents of food products, they were asked to list
products containing protein, carbohydrates
and fat. A large majority of respondents (77
per cent) correctly identified products in each
category and, again, a high correlation was
found between such knowledge of nutrient
components of food and the use of nutrition
labelling. Significant relationships exist
between perceived level of knowledge of
nutrition and respondents’ actual knowledge
of two components – protein and fat. Approxi-
mately half of those who listed products con-
taining protein believe that they have at least
a good or excellent knowledge of nutrition,
while the corresponding figure for those who
do not read labels is slightly over one-quarter.
Three-quarters of the respondents who could
not state food products containing fat believe
that they possess a poor or fair knowledge of
nutrition. No association was found between
perceived level of knowledge of nutrition and
food products containing carbohydrates.
Most respondents are aware of the relation-
ship between components of food and particu-
lar health problems (five diseases were raised
for discussion) with the exception of the asso-
ciation of a component of food and birth
defects, which was unfamiliar to 92 per cent
of the sample. This provides further evidence
that consumers are not only aware of the
association between diet and disease, but are
also knowledgeable about the particular food
components. Significant relationships were
found between the use of nutrition labels and
knowledge of food components associated
with each of the following: heart disease,
birth defects and diabetes. Approximately 90
per cent of those who read nutrition labels
have knowledge of the association of food
products with heart disease. Similarly, 92 per
cent of those who read nutrition labels are
knowledgeable about food products associ-
ated with diabetes. No associations were
found between knowledge of food linked to
obesity and blood pressure and the use of
nutrition labelling.
When respondents were asked to state what
constituted a balanced diet shortcomings in
their knowledge base became evident (see
Table III).
Sixty-seven per cent of the sample are
unaware of the essential elements necessary
for a daily balanced diet. It is interesting to
note that only 24 per cent of those who use
nutrition labels are aware of what constitutes
a balanced diet. Nutrients from a combina-
tion of food products must be obtained to
maintain a healthy lifestyle over a period of
time. Therefore, these results are a cause of
some concern if consumers are attempting to
determine what makes up a balanced diet
from the nutrition information provided on
food labels. If consumers are unable to evalu-
ate the nutrition information on food labels
in the context of their overall diet, as is evi-
dent from these research findings, the effec-
tiveness of nutrition information on food
labels is obviously greatly reduced. To fur-
ther assess consumers’ knowledge of nutri-
tion, their awareness of RDA (recommended
daily allowance) was evaluated. Two-thirds of
respondents were not familiar with the term
RDA. Thirty-six per cent of those who read
nutrition labels are aware of the term RDA,
whereas the corresponding figure for those
who do not read nutrition labels is 11 per cent
(see Figure 3). In comparison, almost two-
thirds of respondents who read nutrition
labels are not familiar with this term, while
Table III
Consumer opinions of a balanced diet (n = 200)
Sources Percentage
Protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins,
minerals, water 33
Don’t know 17
Fruit and vegetables 14
Protein, carbohydrate and fat 10
Fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry and bread 7
Meat and vegetables 4
Vitamins and minerals 3
High fibre, low fat 3
Natural foodstuffs 3
Fibre and protein 2
Meat, fish and poultry 2
Fruit, bread and cereals 1
Slimming foods 1
Figure 3
Awareness of the term RDA
100
80
60
40
20
0
Aware Unaware
Percentage
Key
Read labels
Do not read labels
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7. [ 288 ]
Angela Shine, Seamus O’Reilly
and Kathleen O’Sullivan
Consumer attitudes to
nutrition labelling
British Food Journal
99/8 [1997] 283–289
the vast majority of respondents who are
unfamiliar with the term RDA do not read
such labels. Thus, lack of understanding of
the information provided on food labels will
reduce their effectiveness.
Communication channels through which
consumers obtain information were identi-
fied. “Popular” media were referred to by the
majority of respondents; family and friends
were found to be the second most important
channel (41 per cent), while only 20 per cent
consulted their doctor or dietitian about
nutritional information. It is interesting to
note that often people consult their family
doctor or dietitian when they are seeking to
solve dietary problems, rather than taking a
more proactive approach to achieving a
healthy diet. Product labels were used by 17
per cent of the sample, with only 1 per cent of
respondents referring to government
sources. A significant relationship was found
to exist between respondents who claim to
refer to product labels for information on
nutritional issues and those who use nutri-
tion labelling on food products, with 38 per
cent of those who read nutrition labels refer-
ring to them as a source of information.
There was no significant correlation found
between family, media, government and doc-
tor/dietitian as sources of nutrition informa-
tion and use of nutrition labelling.
Conclusion
There is a growing awareness among con-
sumers of the concept of nutrition and this
increased interest in nutrition has prompted
consumers to evaluate their diet and lifestyle.
Significant relationships between attitudes to
diet, nutritional content of food products,
diet-disease relationship, nutrition informa-
tion and use of nutrition labels were found. A
higher proportion of those who read such
labels expressed strong agreement levels
towards attributes to nutrition.
A number of factors are apparent from an
analysis of consumers’ knowledge of nutri-
tion. First, respondents were found to be
generally aware of, and familiar with, the
composition of food products and the associa-
tion between particular nutrients and health
problems. However, their ability to translate
this knowledge into achieving a balanced diet
was limited as only 33 per cent of the sample
were aware of what constitutes a balanced
diet. This is of particular relevance since
consumers must be aware of what constitutes
a balanced diet to use nutrition information
on food labels effectively. The results of the
consumer survey revealed significant rela-
tionships between perceived level of knowl-
edge, knowledge of the nutrient components
of food products and use of nutrition labels.
However, when respondents required knowl-
edge of particular nutritional information
provided on food labels, the results of the
survey show that they have a very low level of
knowledge of nutrition. This raises the ques-
tion of the effectiveness of nutrition educa-
tion policy.
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