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Symposium ID: 285 Assessing Consumer Awareness and Usage of Food Labels and
Influences on Food Buying Behavior

Sushil Kumar
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Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management

Indian Institute of Management
Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road,
Lucknow - 226013, Uttar Pradesh (India)
Phone 91-522-2736987 (O) Fax 91-522-2734027/25
Email: and

Jabir Ali
Indian Institute of Management
Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road,
Lucknow - 226013, Uttar Pradesh (India)
Phone 91-522-2736978 (O) Fax 91-522-2734027/25
Email:


study also examines the usability of such information in purchase decisions of the respondents.
The level of awareness and the purchase decisions are compared across different socio-economic
groups. It is found that Indian consumers in these three cities are fairly aware of the information
provided on the food labels; though the level of awareness about different types of information
varies. The results indicate that particular category of information is used more by the consumers
while purchasing packaged food products. Differences across different socio-economic groups
are also significant in many cases. The results have very strong implications for regulatory
authorities as well as the food companies.
Keywords: Food labels; consumer awareness; buying behavior; India
Target Audience: Management scholars and management practitioners
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Assessing Consumer Awareness and Usage of Food Labels and
Influences on Food Buying Behavior
Executive Summary
Information disclosure on food products is a critical aspect due largely to stringent


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Assessing Consumer Awareness and Usage of Food Labels and
Influences on Food Buying Behavior

Introduction
Food product labeling, as policy tool for ensuring provision of nutrition and health
information to consumers and as product differentiation strategy by food companies, has
gained importance in the recent past across the globe (Kim, Nayga and Capps, 2001;
Marks, 1984). Recent concerns with food safety (e.g., BSE and Biotechnology) have
resulted in increased demand for regulatory pressures directed at labeling the ingredients,
processing methods, and nutritional content of foods. Trend towards healthier and
wellness food has also led to consumer demand for “more detailed, accurate, and
accessible” nutritional information on the packaged food (Abbott, 1997). Consequently,
nation states across the globe have come out with legal regulations which require
mandatory nutrition labeling of packaged food products. The food labels act as a
signaling mechanism by which food companies assure their potential consumers
regarding their sound quality control practices. However, there are many issues and
questions related to food labeling. One such question that has been raised across
continents is how far the consumers are aware of food labels and can they comprehend
the information provided on the labels. Further, how far the aware consumers take into
consideration food label information while making purchase decisions?
These questions are very pertinent in today’s business environment when food companies
are coming under stringent regulatory pressures to disseminate correct and appropriate
information regarding food items. These labeling regulations essentially reflect response
to consumer’s right to know the content and nutrition of a particular food product. The
objective of these regulations is to provide consistent, understandable, and usable labels
that can help consumers make informed and healthier food choices (Nayga 1996). Most
legal regulations concerning food product labeling are conceived and implemented on the
basic premise that dissemination of information in greater quantities and details will

imperative to assess the level of awareness among Indian consumers towards such
information and how far the information influences their purchase decisions in the
marketplace. Policy makers and researchers have not paid adequate attention to this issue
in the context of Indian food market. Therefore, the present study proposes to fill this gap
by exploring level of awareness among Indian consumers regarding content and
nutritional information on food product labels. The study also attempts to examine
demographic and socio-economic differences with regard to awareness. The outcomes of
the study will help Indian policy makers and food companies to understand the
complexity of issues involved in food labeling and design strategies to maximize benefits
from resources spent on food labeling.
This paper is structured as follows. Section 2 provides basic premise of the study and
discusses the existing regulatory framework with regard to food labeling in India. Data
collection and analytical methodology is discussed in Section 3 followed by results and
their discussion in Section 4. Finally, we conclude with policy implications of the results
in Section 5.
Background
Food labels act as signaling mechanism by which consumers can get assurances on the
food quality standards. Information provided on food labels can influence buying
behavior of the consumers. Several studies have demonstrated a link between the use of
food labels and a dietary intake of the respondents. Kim et al. (2000), in comparing the
difference in nutrient intakes of consumers when they did and did not use food labels,
discovered that using food labels decreased the consumer’s percentage of total calories

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In order to ensure provision of accurate and reliable information on content and nutrition of packaged
food, the regulations in the Indian context have focused more on voluntary disclosure of information on
food labels, but with the coming of the Food Safety Standards Act 2006, which is yet to be implemented,
the guidelines on labeling. As per these guidelines all packaged food products need to adhere to- that labels
borne by them shall not contain any statement, claim, design or device which is false or misleading about
the food products contained in that package or concerning the quantity or the nutritive value implying

have a higher probability of using food labels; consumers residing in metros are more
likely to use and read labels than those living in non-metros etc. Guthrie et al. (1995) in
their study on nutrition label report that 71% of main meal planners admit using the
nutrition labels at least “sometimes.” They further report that women were more likely
than men to read nutrition labels. Other characteristics which were found to have
relationship with label use included education, previous nutrition knowledge, and
concerns over food safety. Studies have also been done to evaluate the positive effect of
label use on consumers’ diets. The same study by Guthrie et al. (1995) showed that meal
planners who used food labels had diets lower in cholesterol and higher in Vitamin.
Sampling, Location and Data Collection
In order to collect data on people’s awareness and the attention they pay to different
categories of information displayed on food labels while making purchase of packaged
food items, a structured questionnaire survey was conducted across three major cities in
northern India: Lucknow, Delhi and Kanpur. The questionnaire consisted of statements
aimed to elicit different dimensions of respondent’s awareness about food labels and how
far he/she uses this information in choosing different brands of packaged food products.
Respondents views on following types of information provided on labels were collected:
• List of ingredients or contents of the food
• Short phrases about the food characteristics such as low fat, low cholesterol etc
• Nutrition panel giving information on proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, calories
etc per serving

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• Information about the size of serving
• Statements regarding health benefits from the food
The selected cities provided a convenient sampling location both in terms of number and
the variety of respondents. Delhi is the capital city of India in addition to being a
metropolitan. Lucknow and Kanpur too are mini metros. Respondents for the survey were
selected using convenient sampling technique. The survey was carried out in places
where there was some kind of food retail presence (both organized and unorganized) such

40%
Age groups 18 to 25 years
13%

26-35 years
26%

36-45 years
22%

46-55 years
23%

55-65 years
11%

More than 65 years
05%
Annual income (INR) Less than 1,00,000
14%

1,00,000 - 2,49,999
38%


between Rs. 2,50,000 and 4,99,999, and 10% between Rs. 5,00,000 and 7,99,999. Of the
remaining respondents 14% had an annual income which was below Rs 1,00,000 and 3%
whose annual income was above Rs. 8,00,000.
In the questionnaire survey, respondents were asked to assign the level of importance
they attach to each of the five categories of information generally displayed on the food
labels.

Table 2: Level of Importance Assigned to Various Categories of Information’s on Food
Labels of Packaged Foods
Very
Imp
Somew
hat Imp.
Undecided Somew
hat
Unimp.
Not
Imp. at
all
Can't
Say
List of ingredients or
contents of the food
240 (64) 95 (25) 8 (2) 6 (2) 16 (4) 8 (2)
Short phrases about the
food characteristics
115 (31) 135(36) 42(11) 40(11) 30(8) 11(3)
Nutrition panel giving
information on proteins,
vitamins etc

Food Labels
Never Rarely Sometimes Mostly Always Not
aware of
List of ingredients or
content of the food
15(4) 24(6) 52(14) 104(28) 170(46) 7(2)
Short phrases about the
food characteristics
29(8) 39(11) 83(22) 118(32) 90(24) 13(4)
Nutrition panel giving
information on proteins,
vitamins etc
13(4) 29(8) 66(18) 126(34) 128(34) 9(2)
Information about size
of serving
37(10) 59(16) 80(21) 93(25) 92(25) 9(2)
Statements regarding
health benefits from the
food
18(5) 45(12) 74(20) 107(29) 116(31) 11(3)
Note: Figures in parenthesis denote percentages

In order to examine consistency between respondents’ attitude and behavior, we asked
the respondents about their buying behavior with respect to processed/packaged food
items. The objective was to see how much attention the respondents actually pay to
various categories of information while purchasing processed/packaged food. The results
presented in Table-3 above show that of the respondents who perceive different kinds of
information available on the food label as important not many see or use that information
while purchasing. Though, on the whole, majority of the respondents do check such
information before buying food products. Majority of the people i.e. 46% always check

attributes in order of importance assigned by the respondents. Peer pressure and
availability of such products are the least important reasons for buying them. These
results indicate that if consumers are very loyal to the brand and really like the taste of a
processed/packaged food product, they buy it in spite of its inferior healthy content.

Table 5: Preference of Buyers for the Product Attributes in Case of Packaged Food Even
if it Contains Harmful Ingredients

Most
Imp.
1
2 3 4 5
Least
Imp.

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Brand
30(45)
17(26)
10(15)
4(6)
5(8)
0
Price
8(12)
10(12)
17(20)
24(28)
4(5)
2(2)

Most packaged foods are reported to contain certain harmful ingredients such as trans-
fats, monosodium glutamate etc. Using one item on the questionnaire we tried to assess
the level of awareness about these harmful ingredients among our sample. In the data it
was found that 69% respondents are aware about harmful ingredients in processed
packaged food items. It is but natural to believe that these respondents would not be
buying foods containing such ingredients given the fact that most people look into the list

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of ingredients while buying. But, a sizeable 18% still buy packaged food items even if
these contained harmful ingredients.

Using one question on the questionnaire we tried to explore the reasons and preferences
of attributes of the food product among these 18% respondents. In this case too
preference for brand, shown by 45% respondents and taste preference shown by 38% are
the most important reasons for respondents because of which they buy such food items
(Table 5). Price being an intermediate factor and availability and peers buying it are the
least important factors for such behavior.

Comparisons across Respondent Groups
Using chi-square statistic, we examined variation across various respondent groups with
regard to different aspects discussed above. This was done to look for any significant
relationships between attitude and behavior towards information displayed on food labels
and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. Tables 5-7 provide results of this
analysis.
Next, we discuss these results one by one.
Table 6 gives results of comparison of importance attached by various groups of
respondents to different categories of information displayed on the food labels.
Note: Figures outside parenthesis denote chi-square value and in parenthesis
denote p-value.


38.94
(0.04)
Nutrition panel giving
information on proteins,
vitamins etc
5.60
(0.85)
45.52
(0.04)
98.31
(0.00)
55.85
(0.00)
32.59
(0.14)
Information about size
of serving
22.33
(0.01)
39.59
(0.11)
72.94
(0.00)
64.68
(0.00)
59.49
(0.00)
Statements regarding
health benefits from the
food

of respondents (Table 6). This indicates that as income levels of people rise they start
attaching increased importance to the information about various aspects of the food.
Information regarding list of ingredients, short phrases about food characteristics and size
of serving showed a significant relationship with respect to occupation of respondents.
For list of ingredients all occupation groups varying from government service, corporate
service, own business, farming, teaching all showed a high percentage towards its
importance. Whereas, for the other two variables people in services (both government
and corporate) and teaching gave more importance as compared to others.
As seen above there are certain significant relationship across demographic characteristic
of the respondents, but are these relationships still significant when people actually buy
packaged food? In order to answer this, significance of the same variables was examined
with respect to all the demographic variables when people actually buy the packaged
food.
Examining the attention paid by different respondent groups to various categories of
information on food label while purchasing packaged food items, we find that attention
paid to all types of information except the size of serving is invariant across male and
female respondents. Results presented in Table-7 indicate that both male and female
respondents pay equal attention to all aspects of information displayed on the food labels
while making purchases of processed/packaged food items. However, in the case of
serving size information, females differ significantly from males in terms the attention it
gets while purchasing a processed/ packaged food item.
Comparison across age groups indicates that behavior is invariant across age groups for
categories of information and significantly varies for the other two categories.
Respondents less than 25 years of age pay significantly less attention to list of ingredients
and short phrases while purchasing processed/packaged food items.

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Table 7: Comparison of Buying Behavior of the Respondents based on the Information
Provided on Food Labels across Various Respondent Groups


(0.00)
Nutrition panel giving
information on
proteins, vitamins etc
13.90
(0.18)
24.82
(0.73)
257.74
(0.00)
50.20
(0.00)
79.93
(0.00)
Information about size
of serving
23.39
(0.01)
35.86
(0.21)
221.84
(0.00)
71.53
(0.00)
60.94
(0.00)
Statements regarding
health benefits from the
food
11.78

respondents on their level of awareness regarding harmful ingredients in packaged food
such as trans-fats, MSG etc. As shown in Table 8, we found that level of awareness is
invariant across gender and age and significantly varies across education, income and
occupation groups. Contrary to what one might think that females and homemakers
would have a higher chance of knowing these, it turned out that gender and age does not
have any significance at all. As expected, respondents with educational qualification
graduation and above have significantly greater awareness regarding such ingredients.

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Similarly, people in the higher income brackets are significantly more aware of the
harmful contents in the processed/ packaged food items. Of all the occupational
categories, farmer was the one category where the awareness was nil.

Table 8: Comparison for Awareness about Harmful Ingredients and Buying Behavior
across Various Respondent Groups

Gender
Age
Education
Income
Occupation
Are you aware of
harmful ingredients in
packaged foods
2.50
(0.29)
7.35
(0.29)
75.43
(0.00)


Policy Implications and Conclusions
Consumer demand for detailed information regarding content and nutrition of packaged
food products is likely to increase due to booming organized retail sector in India. Based
on a structured questionnaire survey among 373 respondents spread across three major
cities in India the study tries to understand the existing level of consumer awareness
regarding information on food labels and the usage of such information in purchase
decisions about packaged food. The results indicate satisfactory level of awareness about
different types of information on the food labels displayed on packaged food products,
however, usage of such information as one of the criteria while purchasing packaged food
product is relatively low. The results indicate that Indian consumers assign very high
importance to information about food ingredients and nutritional contents of the food.
However, as compared to these aspects of food labels, information on serving size and
short phrases has lower priority among these consumers. They also have very strong
preference for brand and the taste of the product. This preference makes them purchase a
packaged food item even though it may not meet their criteria of healthy food or may

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contain some harmful ingredients. Such high preference for brand and taste has far
reaching implications for both the regulatory authorities and the food processing firms. It
becomes very essential for authorities to keep a thorough check on food processing
companies as to what they put into in the market for some might knowing or
unknowingly use harmful ingredients and still get away with it because of a strong brand
name. Also, since all harmful ingredients are not banned or their use prohibited but they
can be used with certain riders (for example, foods containing MSG have warnings of not
using them for infants) it becomes all the more important as to how regulations are
framed to check these and how strictly they are enforced. The quantity of all ingredients
based on serving size also is essential while determining the healthy quotient of a food.
Hence, it is the responsibility of the regulatory agencies to spread awareness amongst
consumers regarding the importance of serving size.

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