Consumers Perception on the Importance of Food Labels in Benghazi/Libya

Abstract

Food label is one of the most important direct means of communication of product information between consumers and food manufactures. The current study aims to determine the extent to which consumers understand the importance of food label. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at supermarkets and malls in Benghazi city. Study included four hundred participants, data were collected by questionnaires. Data were analysed by using descriptive statistics. Chi-Square test used to examine the significant differences in the sample. The majority of participants were male, young and most of them were married, employers with high education level and middle-income level. Results from this study indicated highly participants’ perception on the importance of food labels. However, more than (80%) of the present study population were perceived food labelling as very much important information, Statistically significant difference in perceiving food labelling as important information was reflected by the chi-square test among participants with different levels of education, different genders and different occupations. Findings from this study will facilitate future public education efforts to promote the use of food labels.