FSAI Survey Unveils Irish Attitudes to Food Labelling
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today published a nationwide survey that provides an insight into consumers’ understanding and views of food labelling on the Irish market. The survey reveals that while one in four consumers in Ireland always read food labels when shopping for food, 27% said they rarely or never consult them. Food labelling was considered informative by nearly three quarters of consumers surveyed, and the main reasons these consumers read food labels is to look for nutrient information, calorie content, or to determine if the food contains specific ingredients.
Commissioned by the FSAI, the Ipsos MORI survey comprised face-to-face interviews with 1,021 consumers, countrywide. Consumers were asked to rate the importance of ten pieces of information legally required on food labels. The date of minimum durability (i.e. the use-by or best-before date) was rated the most important piece of labelling information, followed by the list of ingredients and the name of the food.
Eighty seven percent of consumers considered the nutrition table on a label to be very or fairly important, but most would prefer to see nutrient values stated per portion (e.g. per bowl), than per 100 g or 100 ml. Over 70% of consumers surveyed said they were very or fairly concerned about salt in food, so it is important that food labelling is presented in a way that allows consumers to identify lower salt options. Currently, the salt content of a food is declared as ‘sodium’, but the majority of consumers said that they would prefer to see a ‘salt’ value on the label instead, although labelling both would be acceptable.
On a voluntary basis, food manufacturers often highlight nutrition information by placing signpost labelling on the front of packs, following a Traffic Light format, a Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) format, or a combination of the two. When consumers were shown a Traffic Light label, two GDA labels and a label which combined both schemes; 53% opted for either of the two GDA labels, whereas 39% considered the traffic light label most informative. However, only 8% of consumers considered the combination label the most informative.
The survey also showed that:
• Over 80% of consumers want health advice regarding the consumption of alcohol labelled on alcoholic products
• 75% of consumers would like to see a date of minimum durability labelled on foods sold loose
• Country of origin labelling is important to consumers in Ireland, as nearly three quarters of those surveyed believe county of origin should be indicated on all foods – both pre-packaged foods and foods sold loose
• At least two thirds of consumers said they would be inclined to buy food products labelled with the nutrition claims: ‘low salt’, ‘low sugars’, ‘one of five a day’, ‘high fibre’, or ‘fat free’
• Consumers consider the voluntary allergen message ‘May contain…’ more informative than ‘Made in a plant that handles…’
• Less than half of consumers have seen percentages of certain ingredients written in the ingredients list, in line with the QUID (quantitative ingredient declaration) requirement; and a third of these consumers said that they do not use this information to influence their choice of purchase
• Consumers found some elements of labels confusing, such as the use of non-standardised measurements for nutritional information and the use of scientific terms for ingredients or nutrients. Over half agreed that making the information easier to understand and using larger text size would make it easier to choose food products.
Commenting on the findings of the survey Prof Alan Reilly, Chief Executive, FSAI states,
“The survey reveals that attitudes to food labelling in Ireland have changed since our last survey in 2002. The main reasons consumers now read food labelling is to look for nutritional and calorific information, whereas in 2002 the key reason to read a label was to check the best before date. This indicates that people are concerned about healthy eating and want to know more about the nutritional aspects of the food they are buying.”
“Overall, nearly three quarters of consumers confirm that food labels are informative, which is positive. The function of food labelling is to provide consumers with key information on the properties, ingredients, nature and characteristics of pre-packaged food to enable them to make informed food purchasing decisions. This survey highlights that consumers want information on food labels to be clear, but also indicates a need to educate consumers on the different aspects of food labelling to allow them to make more informed purchasing decisions,”
“The FSAI is involved in discussions with the European Commission and other Member States on the development of a new regulation on the provision of information to consumers, essentially a revision of the food labelling regulations. The outcome of this survey will feed into the Irish position”, he concluded.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editor
General labelling requirements
The following mandatory information must appear on the packaging or label of pre-packaged foodstuffs:
1. Name under which the product is sold
2. List of ingredients and declaration of allergens
3. Quantity of certain ingredients
4. Net quantity
5. Date of minimum durability
6. Any special storage instructions of conditions of use
7. Name or business name and address of the manufacturer or packager, or of a seller in the European Union
8. Place of origin of the foodstuff if its absence might mislead the consumer
9. Instructions for use where necessary
10. Beverages with more than 1.2% alcohol by volume must declare their actual alcoholic strength.
Voluntary nutrition labelling schemes
Traffic light labelling and guideline daily amount (GDA) schemes are examples of voluntary ‘signpost’ labelling, which convey nutrition information about the product and are usually placed on the front of the pack. The traffic light scheme, developed by the Food Standards Agency UK, depicts whether a food is high (red), medium (amber) or low (green) in key nutritional requirements, e.g., fat, saturates, sugar, salt, calories. The GDA labelling system was developed by the food industry, and shows the amount of key nutritional requirements per portion of the food, and what percentage a portion of the food contributes to a person’s daily guideline amount.
A Research Study into Consumers' Attitudes to Food Labelling