Author(s): Nayera Masoodi and Husbana Mubarak

Abstract:
A food label should be easy and simple to read so that the consumer understands it and trusts it. Food labels are informative to consumers. The study was conducted with a view to know about nutritional knowledge and consumers use & understanding of food labels. Various supermarkets of Srinagar city were surveyed and information was obtained from 5 supermarkets (Almadina seven/eleven, C-Mart and Dar Brothers from different areas of Srinagar viz., Sanat-nagar, Rawalpora, Baghat, and Hyderpora (Srinagar). The number of consumers included in the study was 51. An interviewer administered questionnare was used to collect information from consumers. From the results, it was revealed that consumers did not fully understand the food labels on food products. Reading food labels was mostly done at home & in the supermarkets during the time of shopping; however consumers didn’t understand each information on food label. Overall, consumers had varied views about food labeling. Some found reading food labels time consuming whereas others believed that it was useful. The results from this study indicated that students were more inquisitive in reading food labels than professionals and businessman. Consumers were not fully clear after reading food labels; they could not understand the nutrition table & nutritional declarations of the food label. Majority of the consumers were satisfied with the nutritional information provided on food items. In conclusion, nutritional knowledge and consumers with highly educated background is seen to increase the probability of using food labels, but these factors may be offset by the current health status.

Pages: 1371-1376  |  863 Views  246 Downloads