Tensions and Opportunities: An Activity Theory Perspective on Date and Storage Label Design through a Literature Review and Co-Creation Sessions

Wanjun Chu,Renee Wever,Wiktoria Glad,Helén Williams,Karli Verghese

doi:10.3390/su12031162

Wanjun Chu, Renee Wever + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031162

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Abstract

On-pack date and storage labeling is one of the direct information carriers used by the food industry to communicate product shelf-life attributes to consumers. However, it is also one of the major factors that contribute to consumer food waste issues. This study aims to systematically understand the existing tensions within the current date and storage labeling system and explore the potential opportunities for design to intervene. First, we conducted a literature review to identify tensions that the consumer encounters in their food edibility assessment system and summarize the corresponding proposal for actions. 12 tensions and 16 proposals for action were identified and further framed according to a conceptual model developed in this study. Following this, the literature findings were refined and grounded in co-creation sessions in consumer workshops and industry practitioner interviews to develop specific labeling-related design implications. The findings indicate the importance of investigating the role that date and storage labeling play from a system level. Furthermore, we suggest that the conceptual model developed in this study can be used not only as a framework that guides researchers to identify and analyze labeling-related food waste problems that each individual consumer encounters, but also as a guideline that assists packaging design practitioners in exploring potential design opportunities to solve the problem from a system perspective.

Highlights

Over the past decade, the problem of consumer food waste caused by packaging has gained much attention globally (e.g., [1,2,3])
Applying the tensions and proposals for action we summarized in the conceptual model, we grouped the results from the consumer design workshops and industry interviews into three themes concerning improved date and storage: (1) information presentation on packaging, (2) improved knowledge communication through packaging and (3) technological interventions. (Note that the consumer education campaign was excluded in this part, as it is not directly related to the design perspective that this paper takes)
With the overarching goal to reduce packaging-related food waste, in the present study we focused on exploring the opportunities for design to intervene in the interaction between consumers and date labeling

Summary

Introduction

The problem of consumer food waste caused by packaging has gained much attention globally (e.g., [1,2,3]). While most of the existing studies focus on measuring and reducing the direct environmental impact of packaging, the question of how these packaging attributes might influence consumer household food consumption and waste behavior has rarely been explored [6,7]. Among the indirect impacts of packaging, date and storage information attributes play a significant role in a consumer’s decision of whether to eat or discard food [8]. On-pack date and storage labeling is widely used as an indicator to inform consumers about quality (“Best before” date) and the safety (“Use by” date) status of food. According to Food Information to Consumers (FIC) legislation implemented in the EU (Regulation No 1169/2011) [10], “Best before” labeling relates primary to food quality, and food that passed the date may still keep an acceptable quality if stored properly. “Use by” date relates primary to food safety, and food that passed the date may be likely to pose an immediate danger to human health and should be deemed as unsafe to eat [10]

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