1. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Anderson, D.W. and G.A Zarkin in their study stated that Nutritional labeling is found to affect the
consumer purchase behavior significantly. Some evidence reveals that provision of nutritional
information may allow consumers to switch consumption away from 'unhealthy' products in those food
categories toward 'healthy' products in food categories more easily. If the products are not labeled,
consumers may not be fully aware of their nutrient content. Consumers must form their own beliefs about
nutrient content based on advertising, public health messages, and their general knowledge of food
science. However, this eventually leads to underestimates or overestimates of the content of particular
nutrients in unlabeled food items.
Anderson, D.W. and G.A Zarkin, “Consumer and producer Responses to Nutritional Label
Changes”, American Journal of Agriculture Economics. No. 74, pp .1202-1207,1992
Caswell and Padberg, in their study revealed that improvements in nutrient intake of the
population depend on the interaction of demand and supply forces in food markets. On the demand side,
consumers’ interest in the purchase of diets and products with improved nutritional profiles has a direct
effect on nutrient intake. Consumers’ ability to choose their diets depends partly on the quantity and
quality of information available through a variety of sources, including nutrition panel food labels. They
further state that income does not necessarily indicate a higher willingness to pay for nutritional
information on food items. The level of education is considered to have a positive relationship with
nutritional label use. Among the other factors considered during food shopping such as price, quality,
packaging, label, and brand, the highest level of importance was attached to nutritional labeling on food
products. This particular finding suggests that printed nutrition information is an important source of
“new knowledge” that consumers use in purchasing. Out of the total number of 90 respondents, 52.2%
were willing to pay something additional for products with nutrition information and 47.8% were not
willing to pay anything additional.
Caswell and Padberg, “Towards a More Comprehensive Theory of Food Labels”, American
Journal of Agricultural Economics, No.32, pp28-35 ,1999
Govindasamy and Italia in their study have concluded that females are more likely to use
nutritional labeling than males and have shown that sex play a major role in buying behavior. Age is
found to be significantly influencing the use of nutritional labeling where younger individuals are more
likely to use nutritional labels than older individuals. Moreover, level of education is considered to have a
positive willingness to pay for nutritional information on food items.
Govindasamy.R and J.Italia, “Evaluating Consumer Usage of Nutritional Labelling: The Influence
of Socio- Economic Characteristics”, Journal of Nutritional Education,No.4, pp.370-375, 1999
India has sufficient rules and regulations for mandating the production and supply of safe
and quality food products in the market. However, operational and institutional mechanisms for
enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of this legislation require urgent attention. In most
cases, imported packaged food products carry ingredient details in foreign languages and lack
uniformity in labeling information. A recent report on food labeling in the U.S. indicates that
food import refusals due to labeling violations were caused by lack of required nutritional
information (25%), failure to list the common or usual name of each ingredient (18%), failure to
accurately state the product’s weight, measure, or numerical count (13%), and failure to provide
the label in English (12%) as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

2. Dr. Jabir Ali, “India Moves to Tighten Food Labelling Laws”, Food Quality Magazine,
No.13, October/November 2011
Wells, Farley & Armstrong, stated that in today’s competitive business environment, the
role of packaging has changed due to the consumer’s lifestyle change & increasing self service.
Packages act as a very good tool of sales promotion, which also stimulates consumer impulsive
buying behavior which increases market share and cuts various costs involved in marketing.
Wells.L.E, Farley, H.F & Armstrong. G.A, “The Importance of Packaging Design for Own-
Label Food Brands”, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,
Volume.35, Issue. 9, pp.677-678
Soroka has revealed that packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting
products for distribution, storage, sale and use. Packaging can be described as a coordinated
system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale and end use. Packaging
contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs and sells.
Soroka “Fundamentals of Packaging Technology”, Institute of Packing Professionals, ISBN
1-930268-25-4, 2002.
P.H.K.Prathiraja and A.Ariyawardana state that in Sri Lanka, the general requirements for food
stuffs are laid down in the Food Act , No. 26 of 1980 as amended. Compositional requirements
for certain foods are laid down in the Food Regulations 1994. However, in Sri lanks inclusion of
a nutritional label is not a legal requirement, hence; many products enter the market without a
nutritional label. Given the liberalized environment in Srilanka, local food producers face
immense competition from the imported products and from the products of multinational
companies that have nutritional labels. Consumers have a better selection for their money.
Therefore it is imperative to study the impact of Nutritional Labelling On Consumer Buying
Behaviour.
P.H.K.Prathiraja and A.Ariyawardana “ Impact of Nutritional Labelling on Consumer
Buying Behaviour” Sri Lankan Journal of Agricultural Economics,Vol 5 No 1,2003.
In the study conducted by the National Institute of Nutrition it is stated that the production, sale
and consumption of pre-packaged foods have witnessed a majorsurge in the recent years in both
developed and developing countries. Food labelling is one of the important population-based
approaches that can help consumers make healthy food choices by providing the necessary
information about the food on the pack. The food label is one of the most important and direct
means of communication of product information between buyers and sellers.
http://whoindia.org/LinkFiles/NMH_Resources_Assessment_of_food_labelling_report.pdf
Kuvykaite.R said that a package attracts consumers’ attention to a particular brand, enhances its
image, and influences consumers’ perceptions about a product. The research result shows the impact
of different package elements on consumers’ purchase decisions can be stronger.

3. She concludes that a package could be treated as one of the most valuable tool in today’s marketing
communications, which necessitates more detailed analysis of its elements and an impact of those
elements on consumers buying behavior.
Kuvykaite Rita , Aiste Dovaliene, Laura Navickiene .”Impact of Package Elements on
consumer Purchase Decision”. Kaunas University of Technology, Journal of Economics &
Management (2009.14) ISSN 1822-6515.
Sharma in his paper studied New Consumers Products Branding, Packaging and Labeling in Nepal,
while focusing on existing practice of branding, packaging and labeling of new products in consumer
product manufacturing units. He concluded that the majority of the consumer product manufacturers,
84.37% (27 out of 32 responses) are using product labels as a simple tag attached to the product or an
elaborately designed graphic that is a part of the package.
Sharma “New Consumers Products Branding, Packaging and Labeling in Nepal” 2008.
Blackman has concluded that current shifts in food trends of consumers has led to changes in normal
day to day food marketing to a focus on healthy food marketing, hence impacting on consumer’s
behavior. The impact of the change is more apparent on consumers perception, tests and needs
including changes in products (foods) that are being manufactured and their subsequent positioning.
These changes have increased consumer awareness and have led to the demand for healthy food and
information on the content of the food they consume.
Blackman,C(2005). “A Healthy Future for Europe‟s Food and Drink Sector?” Foresight,
Volume 7 No.6, pp.8-23
Petterson and Fjellstorm, state that it is now common for packaging and communications to contain
tags such as “Trans fat free” or “ with no added sugar” as marketers look to reassure consumers that
their offerings will have no negative impact on consumers and their family’s health. He also
emphasized the importance of healthy eating trends in the food industry by describing it as a war
with “food and health as the key battle front” . It is now becoming common knowledge that in order
to satisfy customers, like product packaging, and provision of clear nutritional content of their
products, particularly where products could be seen as being marketed towards vulnerable groups
such as children.
Petterson .A and Fjellstorm .C (2006)”Responsible Marketing To Children And their
Families”. Young Consumers: Insights and Ideas for responsible Marketers, Volume 7, No.4,
pp.13-18.
Hill and Tilley carried out a study with consumers, to determine whether packaging has an impact on
the preferences of children and their related decision making processes. Through focus groups, they
concluded that all children have a preference for the different kind of characters printed on the
product packages. This emphasized for the use of characters in communication with children.
Hill and Tilley (2002) “Packaging Of Children‟s Breakfast cereal” British Food Journal,
Volume 104,No.9, pp 766-777

4. Roberts states the concept of “eatertainment, that is children may respond to food products not
necessarily because of the nutritious nature but for the fun or perceived imaginary or actual
entertainment to be enjoyed. He also found that colour was an important element in food choice.
Products marketed towards children are brightly coloured in order to attract their eye and make them
seem fun and exciting.
Roberts.M (2005) .”Parenting In an Obesogenic Environment”. Journal of Research for
consumers, No.9.
Siloyoi and Speece, studied that the package’s outlook and features give it the most suitable
uniqueness and originality it needed. The various features like quality are being self explained by the
package, if a package explains that it has high quality, then consumers will also think on similar lines
for the product and likewise, if it has poor packaging, then it will be very difficult to convince a
consumer that the package contains a good product.
Siloyoi and Speece,(2004). „Packaging and Purchase Decisions”. British Food Journal, Volume
106, No.8, pp 670-684.
Underwood et al. narrates that consumers are more likely to spontaneously imagine aspects of how a
product looks, tastes, feels, smells or sounds while viewing product pictures on the package. The
package becomes the symbol that communicates favourable or unfavourable implied meaning about
the product.
Underwood et al. R.L., Klein, N.M., & Burke, R.R (2001). “Packaging communication:
Attentional Effects of Product Imagery”. Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume
10, Issue 7, pp.403-422.
Imram studied that expectations for the food products in a package can be easily generated from the
various factors such as packaging, labeling product information and stereotypes. The effect of colour
is the most obvious and well studied. Consumer perceptions of an acceptable colour are associated
with perceptions of other quality attributes, such as flavor nutrition, and also with satisfaction levels.
Positive effect can be achieved by manipulating one or more packaging variables, including
packaging colour, clear packs that allow viewing food colour, incident light, nomenclature and brand
name appearance. He also added that in food service, the food products chosen for display and sale
by caterers are selected for their colour and appearance attributes.
Imram, N.(1999). “The Role of Visual Cues in Consumer Perception and Acceptance of a Food
Product.” Nutrition and Food Science, Volume 5, September/ October, pp.224-228.
Brown and Schrader in their study state that Consumers can use the nutritional label to make food
choices according to the Dietary guidelines developed by health experts who emphasize the
importance of a well-balanced diet. Consumers identify foods with certain nutritional qualities
related to risk factors and wellness by using the health claims which appear on the front of food
packages. These are the claims about the relationship between a nutrient or a food and the risk of a
disease or health-related condition.
Brown, D.J. and L.F. Schrader. (1990). Cholestrol Information and Shell Egg Consumption.
American Journal of Agricultural Economics.72:548-555

5. Stigler, specifically models the consumer’s search for information which itself has been shown to be
influenced by individual characteristics and many other characteristics. Working within this
classification system, nutritional label use was modeled as a function of several major categories of
variables including individual characteristics such as sex, age, education, household size, special diet
status and monthly income.
Stigler. G.J(1961) The Economics of Information. Journal of Political Economy. 69(3):213-222
APO stresses that nutritional labels can simplify the whole concept of healthy eating. It helps to keep
track of the amount of fat and sugar, sodium and fiber, protein and carbohydrates. It also allows
consumers to make an informed judgement of a product’s overall value.
Asian Productivity Organisation.(2002). Food Standards and Labeling Systems in Asia and the
pacific. Tokyo:Asian Productivity Organisation.
Prathiraja and Ariyawardana in their study found that 86% of the respondents had an awareness
about the nutritional labels on food products, while 14% did not have awareness about nutritional
labels. This particular finding suggests that there is a consumer propensity to read nutrition labels and
it could change their purchasing behavior, which ultimately reflects their relative valuation of taste
versus health. Further they state that, out of 90 respondents 77.8% considered that nutritional
information on food items are vital for their purchasing decisions. Among the other factors
considered during food shopping such as price, quality, packaging label and brand the highest level
of importance was attached to nutritional labeling on food products. This particular finding suggests
that printed nutrition information is an important source of “new Knowledge” that consumers use in
purchasing.
P.H.K. Prathiraja and A.Ariyawardana. “Impact of Nutritional Labelling on Consumer
Buying Behaviour”. SriLankan Journal of Agricultural Economics. Volume-5. No.1. 2003.pp
39-40.
Bender and Derby concluded in their study that females are more likely to use nutritional labeling
than males and have shown that sex play a major role in buying behavior. Age is found to be
significantly influencing the use of nutritional labeling where younger individuals are more likely to
use nutritional labels than older individuals.
Bender, M.M and B.M Derby.(1992) Prevalence of Reading Nutrition Information and
Ingredient Information on Food Labels among Adult Americans. Journal of Nutrition
Education.24:292-297.
In the Journal of Marketing science the consumer perceptions and preferences regarding food
labeling and the information displayed in the packaging of food products with particular emphasis on
nutrition facts have been evaluated, Nutritional labeling are phrases used by business to inform the
consumer about the nature of their product. As far as packaging is concerned it should be eco-
friendly.
Academy of Marketing Science- “Packing and Nutritional Labelling in India”.

6. M.Sakuntala in her study states, in the present age of consumer orientated marketing approach
package has gained unique importance. Packaging is a sales tool for promotional mix. Package
design gives comparative strength, cost of materials and shape. It must attract the customer, hold
their interest and build their desire to buy. Its color, size and shape also helps the promotion of the
product. It was further stated in the study that respondents belonging to the group of below 20 years
preferred packing as their first choice and given least preference to publicity.
M. Sakunthala(2006) “A study on the effectiveness of promotional mix with special reference
to LG products in Coimbatore City”.
K.Deepa found in her study that 92 respondents 61.33% check the manufacturing /expiry date on
package whereas 58 respondents 38.67% do not check the above details which shows the importance
of package and the necessity of disclosure of necessary information on packs.
K.Deepa(2006) “A Comparitive Study on Brand loyalty of Biscuits with Special reference to
Britania and Parle in Erode District”.
Mohit Khattar narrates in his article the role of Packaging as “ Products that are consumed daily or
by a large percentage of the family members typically do better with large sizes, whereas products
consumed infrequently or by some members of the family do well with smaller sizes.
Mohit Khattar(2010 Jan) Managing Director, Nature‟s Basket Limited -“What is your Pick,
Big or Small”.
Akerlof attributed that in markets where sellers have information about product quality that cannot be
credibly conveyed to the buyers, only poor-quality products will be sold and, in the extreme case the
market may collapse. The importance of labeling is not less in Indian scenario. The country is already on
a verge of massive expansion in thefood processing sector as envisaged in the Government plans that the
sector will grow by three fold from470 billion in 2005 to around 4210 billion in 2015: the level of
processing of perishables will increase from 6% to 20%: value addition will increase from 20% to 35%;
and share of country’s exports will increase from 1.5%to 3%. The expansion in the sector can be
attributed to various demand and supply side factors. On demand side, increased real wages, more women
in labor force and changing lifestyles have increased the value of time and demand for convenience. On
supply side, the technological advancement in food processing have enabled industries to provide variety
of processed food and bevarages. With the huge expansion prospects of food business in India, the
mandatory labeling will only ensure efficient functioning of markets. Also, with quality and food safety
issues becoming pertinent in the post WTO scenario, Indian companies also need to follow quality
management systems in accordance to global standards. Regulation to make nutritional labeling
mandatory in the country is only another step in this direction of making Indian companies competitive.
Akerlof.George.A(1970), “The Market for Lemon: Quality Uncertainty and Market
Mechanism”.”Quarterly Journal of Economics 84(3): 488-500
Golan,et al., states that nutritional contents of a food product are credence attributes, which are not known
to consumers from inspection or even after consumption. Food companies, however, have such
information as they know about the ingredients and the method of processing. This creates asymmetry of
information in the market. In fact, there are two important reasons cited in the economic literature for

7. mandatory labeling. One is to correct asymmetric or imperfect information and the other being to correct
externalities. However, labeling is the most appropriate tool if consumer preferences differ widely with
respect to product characteristics. Labels may help confused consumers make choices that better reflect
their preferences. In case of government intervention in labeling, one goal is to influence individual
consumption choices to align them with social objectives.
Golan Elise,Kuchler Fred and Mitchell Lorraine(2000), “Economics of Food Labelling”,
Agricultural Economic Report, No.793, Economic Research Service, U.S Department of
Agriculture, December.
The European Advisory Services have reported that the nutritional information would always be
advantageous to consumers in making the informed choices, but there is going to be cost associated with
it even if it is only a one time cost. The cost of labeling for food companies are in terms of administrative
costs as interpretation of the labeling requirements etc, laboratory analysis of food for ascertaining
nutrient contents, printing costs due to change in labels and reformulation costs. As per the study on
impact of mandatory nutritional labeling in European Union, 49% of the respondents indicated that the
costs incurred due to the introduction of mandatory nutrition labeling would have a significant impact on
the costs of the final product. The impact was felt most heavily by smaller companies with turnover under
62 million with 62 percent of the companies considering it as a significant cost .
EAS(2004) “The Introduction of Mandatory Nutritional labeling in the European Union-Impact
Assessment Undertaken for European Commission,” Report prepared by European Advisory
services, Brussels, November 30.
Economic Research Service Us reports that in US the Nutrition, Labelling and Education Act of
1990(NLEA) required mandatory nutrition labeling for almost all packaged food and set strict regulations
for health claims. The cost of NLEA over the period of 20 years were estimated as $163 million for
Government and $1.4 billion to $2.3 billion for the food industry. As per estimates, the total U.S trade in
processed foodsand bevarages amounted to $54.2 billion in 1995.
ERS(1997). “Globalisation of the Processed food Market. Agricultural Outlook, Economic
Research Service”, United States Department of Agriculture.January-February.
Ippolito and Mathios found that health claims on cereal boxes helped change consumer behavior and
resulted in significant product innovation. In fact, more healthful foods resulting from reformulation may
be the largest benefit of labeling.
Ippolito , Pauline.M and Mathos Alan D(1990). “Information Advertising and Health Choices: A
Study of the cereal Market.”Rand Journal of Economics, 21(3):459-480
Beales state that the reformulation cast would be an issue of concern for the small food companies and
would, therefore need technical and financial assistance from the Government. Not withstanding the cost
issues, mandatory nutrition labeling policy provides incentives to the companies excelling in higher
quality characteristics of the product. In fact nutrient information could be used to create product
differentiation and consumer assurance for the credence attributes of the product.
Beales. H. (1980), “Benefits and costs of Label Information Programs in Product Labelling and
Health Risks” BAnbury Report 6 pp 243-260.

8. Economic Times ,The demand for higher quality attributes for food products would also compel industry
players to approximately address the food safety and quality issues. In fact, many food companies have
already started reformulating their existing products to reduce saturated fat, cholesterol, added sugar and
sodium in line with global trends.
ET(2009) “Global F&B Giants Planning Healthy Tag for Indian Market,” Economic Times, Delhi
edition, July 13.
Thamarai Kannan in his study about marketing problems of turmeric growers have stated that after the
completion of curing and processing of turmeric, it is packed in gunny bags and then taken to the market
centre. Aunique feature prevailing in the turmeric market is that the packing material are supplied, rent
free of cost to the turmeric growers by the commission agents and co-operative marketing societies. It
was observed that the packing materials which were supplied by the commission agents and co-operative
marketing societies are not of good quality and condition , which leads to many problems.
He further concluded that if the packing materials are not of good quality and condition, during
transit and during loading and unloading heavy loss of weight may occur. In order to avoid this problem,
good quality packing material should be provided.
Thamarai Kannan(Dec 2001) “A study on the Marketing Problems and Prospects on Turmeric
Growers in Tamilnadu.”
Satchidanand Rath and Gaur K.D in their study on “A Critical Review of Nature of Liability under the
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act” have stated that the percentage of adulteration incase of Milk
Products are extremely high and covers 51% of the total prosecutions. Vanaspathi, edible oil and prepared
food are the next in degree of adulteration above grains , grams and spices. They have also pointed out
that adulteration was rampant more in the urban areas than in the rural areas and mostly vendors are
indulged in such type of activities rather than manufacturers, stockists and distributors. Finally they have
insisted the need for efficient and incorruptible machinery to look after these evil effects.
Satchidanand Rath and Gaur.R.D(1983)” ““A Critical Review of Nature of Liability under the
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act”, University of Utkal Indian Dissertation Abstract(January-
March) Pg66-69.
Natarajan conducted a study on Consumers Awareness towards ISI mark. It was observed that the
awareness level is high and medium among 34.4% and 55.56% of the consumers respectively. It was
further observed that the consumers have favourable attitude about the quality and the performance of ISI
marked goods.
Natarajan.K (1990) “Consumer Awareness Towards ISI Mark”, Indian Journal of Marketing
Volume No.6(Feb) pg 16-21.
Advani Rani State that the trend of making a large number of items available in a pre packed
condition is picking up very fast. Here comes the question of protecting the interests of the
consumers. As the commodity is pre-packed, a consumer does not know at the time of purchase the
quantity, quality, type , number or size of the contents. With a view to protect the consumers, the act
provides for certain rules concerning the packaging of commodities. Sec 39 of The Standards of
Weights and Measures Act 1976 prohibits the manufacture, packing, sale, distribution or delivery of
any commodity in package bears plain and conspicuous declaration in the prescribed manner

9. regarding its identity, net quantity in terms of standard weights and measure, the sale price, the name
of the manufacturer and the distributor.
It is mandatory that the declaration made on the package be legible, prominent, definite,
plain, unambiguous, conspicuous as to size, number and colour as far as practicable in such style or
type of lettering as to be boldly, clearly and conspicuously presented in distinct contrast to other type.
Advani Rani(1990) consumer Protection Act and Its Implications, Ahmedabad: Consumer
Education Research Centre.
P.Santhi states that milk is considered the best, ideal and near complete or the balanced food. For
vegetarian food habitat people, milk is the only health tonic, particularly during recovery after illness.
In the study it was found that about 57% of the sample respondents expressed nutritive value of
“milk” as most important factor for purchase. He added that packaging has become a potent
marketing tool in case of branded pasteurized sachet milks. The fluid milk marketers however treat
packaging as an element of product strategy. Well designed packages can create convenient value for
the consumer and promotional value for the producer. He further specifies the importance of
labeling. Label contains information required by law and other information that is attached to the
product or designed as a part of the package. Label incase of branded fluid milk is a part of the
package. Label perform several functions such as identification of product, description about the
product and as well as promote the product sales.
P.Santhi (July 2005) “A study of Buyer-Behaviour of Urban households in Fluid Milk Markets
with Reference to Coimbatore District.”
Kirubashini studied that with the development of standards and the Consumer Protection efforts of
the government the consumer organizations are in a better position to play an important role in
protecting and educating consumers. Consumers are deceived in a number of ways like Rampent
adulteration, Substandard quality of products, Shortweights and measures, short supply of goods,
exorbitant pricing, deceptive packaging and labeling. Deceptive labeling includes creating false
impression through over emphasizing the qualitative features of the content that deceives the
consumers. The consumers are also deceived by the superlatives and false information given in the
label. Some products are affixed with labels containing only the names of the products, lacking
information about the address, date of manufacturing and the methods of usage.
B.KIRUBASSHINI (Apr 2003) “ A Study on Consumer Protection in Coimbatore District with
Reference to the Role of Voluntary Consumer Organizations and the Awareness Among
Consumers.”