RESEARCH CONFIRMS CONSUMERS ARE USING FOOD LABELS TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES
September 5, 2003
The Hon Trish Worth, MP
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing
Consumers are reading and using information on food labels to make informed
food choices according to the recently released Food Standards Australia New
Zealand (FSANZ) survey OFood Labelling Issues - Quantitative Research with
Consumers¹.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Trish Worth, said the survey confirmed
that consumers use labels for many reasons and in different ways and some
use many more label elements than others.
³Key results showed that the most widely used label elements were the use
by/best before dates, ingredients list and Nutrition Information Panel, with
over two thirds or more consumers reporting using this information,² Ms
Worth said.
³Endorsements, such as the Heart Foundation¹s OPick the tick¹, and use
by/best before dates were rated by consumers as the most clear and easy to
understand. They were also rated as the most trustworthy.
³The least used labelling element were the health claims, allergen
declarations, genetically modified food declaration, and novel or irradiated
food declarations.
Ms Worth said the research also indicated that consumers need further
information to help them understand the basics of healthy eating.
³FSANZ has undertaken to work with industry, health professionals and
educators to ensure that this information is available,² Ms Worth said.
The survey was conducted just before the new Food Standards Code came into
full force in December 2002.
Close to 2,000 people were interviewed in metropolitan cities in Australia
and New Zealand. Fifteen label elements were examined in the survey
covering such things as date marking, the ingredients list, the nutrition
information panel, country of origin, nutrient claims, preparation / storage
instructions, percentage label, warning and advisory statements, allergen
declaration, endorsements, GMO, novel food and irradiated food declarations
and health claims.
Results of the survey are available on the FSANZ¹s website:
www.foodstandards.gov.au and a limited number of hard copies from the
Information Officer by sending an e-mail to