A Survey on Customers' Perceptions of Nutrition Labeling for Processed Food and Restaurant Meal

Abstract

Consumer perception of processed food and restaurant food’s nutrient labelling was surveyed. The subjects of this survey consisted of 1,507 parents, whose ages were 20-59 years old. The ratio of the respondents that have known nutrition labelling on processed foods was 89.8% and the ratio of whom have checked the nutrition labelling at their point of purchase was 72.3%. The nutrients which were considered important for nutrition labelling were fat (57.1%), calorie (56.3%) and sodium (49.0%). Also nutrient which were able to be recognized at a glance by the subjects were in the order of trans fat (62.1%), cholesterol (26.9%), calorie (23.9%) and sodium (21.0%). If restaurant menu’s nutrient labelling be enacted, the answer rate that the menu’s nutrition labelling may affect their menu choice is 90.6% of the respondents. Besides of the Fastfoods that are enforcement, restaurants of that customers want the menu to be labeled were ‘pizza and chicken restaurants’. Nutrients that customers preferred to be labelled were calorie (62.0%), fat (60.3%) and sodium (50.9%).