Food Package Label Reading Habits of Consumers in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Area in the Western Region of Ghana

Abstract

Food packaging is essential in making products attractive to the consumer to propel or compel him or her to make a purchase willingly or by impulse. Not only does the colour attributes of the package induce and influence consumer purchasing habits, portability (handling) and labeling become important elements of the product's package, which consumers put into consideration before making a purchasing decision. Labeling as an important component of packaging is a legal requirement by Food and Drugs Authorities of various countries across the globe and that all products should be labeled to give the consumer certain information concerning the product. Such labeling should include mandatory, dietary, and nutritional information. These are to assist the consumer to be sure of exactly what is being bought, the product name, the content of the package, ingredients, how to use the product, date of manufacture and expiry among other things. Although these regulations are put in place to ensure consumers safety, a cursory look at consumers purchasing patterns show that a good majority of the people living in urban areas in the Western region of Ghana do not spend time reading the labels on the product before buying. The few people who read the labels mainly centred their attention on the brand name and the date of expiry. These conclusions were arrived at after observations were made in surveys involving a mall, twenty top class shops in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and other retail outlets in the region to study consumer-reading habits on food package labels.