Consumers' perception of nutritional facts table and nutritional traffic light in food products' labelling: A qualitative study

Abstract

Traffic light labelling (TLL) policy has been adopted to improve consumers' food choices. This qualitative study examined the consumers' perception of TLL and nutritional facts table (NFT) in Iran. We applied a qualitative method to explore public views and perceptions of NFT and TLL in Iran. Participants ageing 20-75 years old were selected by maximum diversity sampling and interviewed using a semi-structured in-depth interview. The interviews were continued until data saturation was achieved after interviewing 35 participants with five more interviews to ensure no new emerging perception. Data was analysed by directed content analysis in MAXQDA 10 software. Findings indicated that a large number of the participants were not aware of NFT and TLL. There are some reasons for not paying attention to NFT and TLL, which include lack of enough knowledge about NFT and TLL concepts and defects in appearance and details written in these labels, lack of appropriate education about labels, place of putting the labels and lack of enough time for using the labels during shopping. It is concluded that educational interventions should be applied to ensure their effectiveness in improving healthy food choices.