Self-reported use and understanding of food label information among tertiary education students in Ghana
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Date
2019-08-23
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Food Control
Abstract
Food packaging labels attract consumers' attention in stores and market areas, and communicates relevant food
safety and nutrition information that allows them to distinguish between food product alternatives. Therefore,
the objective of this study was to assess consumers' self-reported use, knowledge and understanding of food
labels among tertiary students in Ghana. A validated questionnaire was used to recruit 1478 students from
fourteen (14) public tertiary institutions across the 10 regions to collect information on demographic characteristics
of respondents, usage and understanding of information provided on food labels, using proportional
quota and convenience sampling techniques. The majority of respondents 956 (64.7%) were between the ages of
21 and 30. A total of 463 (31.3%) students read food label ‘very often’ while 892 (60.4%) read food labels
‘sometimes’. While 963 (65.2%) of respondents indicated that information on food labels are very important,
934 (63.2%) still believe that food label information are often not credible. Respondents considered expiring
date 1269 (85.9%), date of manufacture 1106 (74.8%) and health warning 1097 (74.2%) as the top three very
important information on food labels whereas product value/weight, 654 (44.2%) was considered as least important
in choosing particular food products. Respondents generally depend on television programs/advertisement,
1349 (91.3%); internets, 1290 (87.3%) and friends and neighbors, 1213 (82.1%) as sources of knowledge
regarding food label information. When participants were provided with a sample food label to assess their
understanding of food label information, 916 (62.0%) of respondents did not answer the question at all. Out of
562 (38%) who answered the question, only 243 (16.5%) correctly interpreted the information. No significant
difference (P > 0.05) exist between ages, sexes, institutions, and university and training college students regarding
their understanding of food label information. Eventhough tertiary education students in Ghana read
and attach importance to food label information, they have limited understanding of the information provided
on food labels.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Survey, Tertiary students, Nutrition, Food safety