Food labels - status and consumers' attitude on the Serbian food market

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to present results from a research that analyzed the quality of labels available in the Serbian food market and consumers' attitudes toward food labels. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 899 food labels have been analyzed in relation to the presence of legally required information, their readability to average consumer and presence of nutritional/health claims and/or nutritional information. In parallel, 400 respondents were interviewed in the survey of consumers' attitudes regarding labels. Findings - Results revealed that 38.2 per cent of food products hold labels that are not fully readable to average consumers. Regarding basic label information, 11 per cent of foods have missing information in terms of series/lot identification. The majority of the products (87.4 per cent) have only basic nutritional information with 4.6 per cent of products holding nutritional claims. Consumers with active sport activities showed higher awareness of nutritional information. There were no statistically significant differences between smokers and non-smokers regarding their attitudes toward nutritional information. Age and education play a significant role in ranking nutritional facts. The most important nutritional information is fat content, followed by sugar and vitamins. Research limitations/implications - The nature of the study did not allow conclusions regarding causal relationship between food products and consumers as well as if nutritional information affects consumers' choices and purchasing patronage. Originality/value - The findings of this study are worthy, as they report the Serbian consumers' understanding of labels and nutritional information as well as the status food labels sold in the Serbian market.