Towards nutrition security: Food label use among Nigerians

Abstract

This study focuses on food label use by Nigerians, using Kwara State as a case study. Specifically, the study describes the socio-economics characteristics of the respondents, determined people’s perception about food labels and examined factors influencing willingness-to-read food labels in the study area. A total of 120 respondents selected through a combination of purposive and random sampling techniques were used for the study. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, 5-point likert scale and logistic resgression analysis. Majority of the respondents were females (72.5%), married (60%) and had secondary education (50%). The mean age, household size, number of preschool children and household income of the respondents were 26years, 9 persons, 2 children and N25,250.00/month (USD 157.81) respectively. The respondents opined that food labels were used mainly for traceability (M = 3.24), registration status of the food producer (M = 3.01), advertisement (M =4.02), as a legal requirement (M = 4.00), to know the expiry dates (M = 4.57) and to distinguish the product from that of other competitors (M = 3.54). Results of the regression analysis revealed that women were more willing to read food labels than men, and positively related to age of respondent, household income level, educational status of food planner and nutritional knowledge of the food planner. However, willingness-to-read food labels by the respondents declined with household size and number of preschool children. The study therefore calls for enlightenment of the public by relevant stakeholders on importance of food labels to determine nutritional composition and health implications.