| Abstract [eng] |
Food labelling is a very important source of information for consumers. This information is especially important for young people since namely in this period the formation and consolidation of their lifestyle habits occur [7]. Therefore the information contained on food packaging must be understandable and clear to young people so they could use it in choosing food products that are most favourable to health. Studies have shown that consumers find it difficult to clearly understand label information. For some users this information is obscure, too complicated, and too complex terminology is used [6, 34, 41]. However, in recent years, no studies have been performed aimed to establish the approach of students to food label information and its impact on food choices. The aim of the paper is to assess the students’ approach to food label information and its impact on food choices. The study was conducted in May 2016 - January 2017. During the study, the students of Vilnius University were interviewed. In order to achieve the objectives of the research, data was collected through an anonymous questionnaire. The study results showed that 50.4 percent of the students of Vilnius University believe that the information contained on food labels most often is useful when buying food products. A little bit more than a half of the respondents believe that the information contained on food labels is usually accurate. It was found that most of the respondents when purchasing food products read the information provided on the product packaging only occasionally (44.8 percent). When analysing the reasons why the students read this information only occasionally or do not read it at all, it was found that the majority of the respondents state that they do not have time to read it (31.4 percent). The results showed that in most cases when students choose food products, the information contained on the product label determines their choice only occasionally (44, 8 percent). Most students said that their choice is determined by the price of the product (30.7 percent). More than a half of the students understand the information about food products only in part. It was found that 53.7 percent students do not understand food label information or understand it only partially since unclear abbreviations are used. |
