Objectives

1. To examine the knowledge towards food labelling 2. To examine the attitude toward food labelling 3. To examine the label reading behaviours 4. To identify factors that influencing label reading behaviours

Introduction
Food labels are used to give information so that consumer can choose between foods. There are rules that protect us from false claims or misleading descriptions, and there are clear guidelines about what label. The food label identifies a variety of information about a product, such as the ingredients, net weight, and nutrition facts. Food and Drug Supplements (FDA) regulations require nutrition information to appear on most foods, and any claims on food products must be truthful and not misleading. The food label is one of the most valuable tools consumers have says Barbara Schneeman, PHD Director of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements. The food label gives consumers the power to compare foods quickly and easily so they can judge for themselves which products best fit their dietary needs. Most nutrients must be declared on the Nutrition Facts Label as "percent Daily Value" (%DV), which tells the percent of the recommended daily intake in a serving of that product and helps the consumer create a balanced diet. The %DV allows you to see at a glance if a product has a high or low amount of a nutrient. Health experts recommend keeping your intake of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol as low as possible because these nutrients may increase your risk for heart disease. This is where the %DV on the Nutrition Facts Label can be helpful, says Schneeman. The Nutrition Facts label is divided into two main areas which is in sections 1-5 it provide product-specific information like serving size, calories, and nutrient information. These vary with each food product. Whereas in the section 6 is a Footnote with Daily Values (DVs). The footnote provides information about the DVs for important nutrients, including fats, sodium and fiber. The DVs are listed for people who eat 2,000 or 2,500 calories each day.

Methodology
For this survey, we used cross sectional studies to survey on knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the students toward food labelling. This survey is done by distributed 30 questionnaires to 30 students from different gender, age and courses. Then, we collect the data and categorized it into groups. Finally, we analyze it and present into form of pie chart and bar chart. From the analysis data, we pick certain questions that are interesting to be discuss and analyze it. Then, we present it to the others and make a report on it.

Finding Analysis
A) Background of the Respondent

Items 1. Gender

Number of respondents : 30 Male 10 20-22 20 Malay 18 Bongsu 19 FEM Chinese 5 Kecil 5 ECO Indian 6 Muda 3 S. COMP 3 EGN Female 20 23-24 10 Others 1 Sulung 3 BIOTECH

2. Age

3. Races 4. Classification

5. Faculty

9 6. Accommodation

14

Inside the campus 30 1000 3 10002000 5 20003000 6 Formal 1

Outside the campus 0 30004000 5 4000 11 Informal 13 16

7. Income in 1 semester ( 4 months )

8. Have you ever had information about food labeling? If yes, how did you get the information? 9. Are you smoking? 10. Did you do physical activities?

Yes No No 28 No

1 11. Did you take any supplement as additional food?

Sometimes Always 1 1 Sometimes 1-3 times a At least 5 week times a week 24 5 0 Yes No 11 19

Based from the table we can see that there were 30 of respondents had took this questioners. They are 10 male students and 20 students were female. Their age range are between 20 to 24 years old. They come from different courses and faculty, which are from FEM, ECO, SNC COMP, ENG and BIOTECH. Based on the table, we can see that all the students are staying in the campus. All the students got their income for study, and their income range are between less than RM1000 until RM4000 and above. The respondent also answered the question of have you ever had information about food labelling? and if they answered yes then they will be asked how did they got the information. We also can see that from 30 students, 28 of them did not smoke, 1 of them smokes sometimes and the other one said he always smoke. They also were asked to answer if they do the physical activities or not. Lastly, they were asked whether they took supplement or not. 11 of them took and the rest 19 not took supplement as their additional food. All the respondents or students are those who are students of University Putra Malaysia.

B) Knowledge towards Food Labeling 1.

Based on the pie chart above, we can see that that 7% respondents answer wrong and 93% answer correct on questions Food Act 1883 compulsory the food producer and supplier to do labelling for each types of food. The answer is actually wrong. This shows that, mostly respondents do no know that basic knowledge about food labelling.

3.

While for question no 3 (refer to pie chart above), we can see that 3% of the respondents gave answer wrong. Whereas, 97% of the respondents give answer correct if the food contain meat it should be stated clearly on the packaging. The answer is correct. For this question mostly respondent answer correctly. As we know, meat is a sensitive issue for a certain races example for Indian. This is probably making the respondents aware of the label meat. Hence, they know it should be stated clearly on the packaging.

4.

Based on the bar chart above, 66.67% of the respondents answer correct and 33.33% of the respondents answer wrong for question the total nutrients which are stated in the food labelling follow the requirement of RDA/RNI. The answer is actually wrong. This shows that, the students did not know anything about RDA requirement. Some of the students did ask what is RDA. They did know RDA is the Malaysian Recommended Dietary Allowances which is based on FAO/WHO are level of intake of essential nutrients considered to be adequate to meet the known nutritional needs of practically all healthy people.

8.

While for the pie chart above, we an see that 90% of the respondent answer correct and 10% of the respondent answer wrong for question the expired date or sign Best Before should be print out permanently on the food packaging. The answer is actually correct. We can conclude that, anything that is commonly used by the respondent they will know. Example, the respondents know that looking at the expiry date of a product is important hence they can answer this question correctly. However, they did not practice it for looking at other components such as the nutrients fact, the ingredients and so on.

14.

Based on the bar chart above, 86.67% of the respondent answer correct and 13.33% answer wrong for question counterfeit labelling which did not follow the standard given by the Food Act 1983 and Regulations can report to the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperation and Consumer. The answer is actually wrong. This again shows that, the respondent do no have knowledge about the facts of food labelling.

15.

For bar chart above, we can see that 90% of the respondent answer correct. While, 10% respondent answer wrong for question the consumer can ask pecuniary damage of counterfeit labelling on the food packaging (Food Act 1983). The answer is actually correct. This shows that the respondents know their right as a consumer. They know if they get cheat on the food labelling they can ask for a pecuniary damage.

16.

Based on the pie chart above, we can see that 63% of the respondent answer correct and 37% of the respondent answer wrong for question all ingredients that are stated in the food labelling are listed according to their quantity from high to low. The answer is actually correct. This shows that some of the student aware of the arranging of the ingredients. This probably because they think it should be organize the weight from high to low to make it more statement more clearly.

17.

Whereas, for bar chart above 63.33% of the respondent answer correct and 36.67% of the respondent answer wrong for questions information about energy value need to be stated as kilocalorie (Kcal) for each 200g/200ml of the food. The answer is actually wrong. Some of the students know that the energy value needs to be stated as Kilocalorie for each 100g. This probably because some of the students came from courses that need them to take nutrition as one of their compulsory subject. Hence, they will know some of the facts about the energy value.

18.

Based on the pie chart above, we can see that 97% of the respondent answer correct and 3% of the respondent answer wrong for question the energy value which are listed for each food packaging can be stated in Kcal. The answer is actually correct. This somehow shows that mostly respondents know about the energy value can be sated as kilocalorie or in kilo joule. They probably always saw that label Kj or Kcal on the food packaging. Hence, they know it can be stated in Kcal.

C) Attitude Towards Food Labeling

1.

Based on the bar chart, it shown that 20 respondents with the percentage 66.66% are totally agree that food labelling that are display at each food package is useful to the consumer. Only 9 respondents are agree, 1 respondent did not agree and no respondent are totally disagree. So that we can conclude that respondents have awareness about food labelling. It is because food label present in packaging are give a lot of information like information on the amount per serving of saturated fat, cholesterol and other nutrients of major health concern to the respondents and it also can be a guidelines to the respondents before purchase a food.

2.

From the question above, we can see based on the bar chart that among 30 respondents, 12 respondents are agree with this question and also 12 respondent have the opposite opinion which is disagree about nutrient fact that are display on the food labelling are useful to the consumer. The percentages of respondent that agree and disagree with this statement are respectively 40%. Only 6 respondents with percentage 20% are totally agree and there are no respondent are totally disagree. So based from the survey we can conclude that every respondents who is as a consumer, they have their own opinion about the nutrient fact present on the food packaging. In our opinion, maybe some of the respondents are not being taught to use the nutrient fact before purchase a food, so they think it is not important and useful to them to look into the nutrient fact. But for those respondents who are concern about nutrient that contain in the food that they want to buy, they will look into the nutrient facts before purchase the food.

3.

Based on the pie chart above, we can see 17% of respondents are totally agree and 43% of respondents are agree about nutrient facts like high in fibre or no fat that are display on food labeling can be trusted. But there are 33% of respondents are disagree and the rest of 7% percentage of respondents are totally disagree. From this survey we can conclude that mostly respondents are believed that nutrient facts will give them correct information about the nutrient that contain in the food. It also shows that the nutrient facts are influences them before to purchase some food. For those respondents who are not agree and totally disagree they maybe think the nutrient facts like high in fibre or no fat are one of the strategies to attract people to purchase their products. As a conclusion, every consumer has to be more concern about the ingredients and nutrients that contain in the food and know their right as a consumed.

5.

For the question above, the bar chart was shown that 18 respondents with percentage 60% are agree that food labeling is easy to understand by the consumer. There are 6 respondents with 20% who is agree and disagree respectively and there is no respondents who are totally disagree. So from the survey data we can conclude that the respondents are know how to use the food labeling and it will be as a guideline for them before want to purchase the food or products. For those respondents who are disagree about food labeling is easy to understand, this is because they have a little knowledge about the nutrition information in the food label and maybe they did not understand the food label that present on the packaging.

6.

Based on the bar chart above, it shown that the percentage of respondents who are agree is 66.67% , 30% respondents are totally agree and 3.33% respondent is disagree. So that based on this survey results, we can conclude that mostly respondents are use their right as a consumer in order to choose which product that can give more benefits to them. As a consumer they can do the comparison between the similar products by using the food label. Example like they can compare the pack weight, amount of calorie, fats, sugar and the entire ingredient list in order to choose which product they want from the points of view of health and taste.

7.

From the bar chart above, there are 60% of respondents are agree that food labeling and declaration guide them to practise food principal during selection of food. 23.3% of respondents are totally agree, 16.67% of respondents are disagree and there is no respondents is totally agree. So that we can conclude, respondents are realize that food label can give them the information and guide them to practise food principal during selection of food. It is shown that most of respondents have a good knowledge about food labels. It is good because food label also can help them to see how a food fits into their overall daily diet.

8.

From the bar chart above, we can see that 56.67% of respondents are agree and 23.33% of respondents are totally agree that the HALAL sign at food labeling are not hesitate by them. Only 16.67% of respondents are disagree and 3.33% are totally disagree. Based on the result we can conclude mostly the respondents are not hesitate about the HALAL sign at food labeling because majority of Malaysian are muslim, so our government have a strict rules according to the HALAL sign.

9.

Based on the pie chart above, we can see 53% of respondents are disagree that the food producer stated sincerely all the ingredients that are use during producing food. But there is respondents with 30% agree and 17% totally agree with this statement. So we can conclude that the mostly respondents have a high awareness about the ingredients of the product and it shown that they are concern about the food or product that they purchase. In my opinion, to avoid having a feeling of hesitate about all the ingredients that are using during produce the products they should refer to the food labels of those products because it gives the true information about the ingredients of the product. The law says that any claim on the food label must be true ad not be misleading, so the consumer should trust the claims o labels.

10.

Based on the pie chart above, there are 56.67% of respondents are agree and 3.33% that totally agree the font size on the food labeling are easily to read. For the percentage of respondents who are disagree is 36.67% and 3.33% is totally disagree. From the results, we can conclude that most of the respondents are satisfy with the font size on the food labeling. So it gives convenience to them to refer the food labels first before purchase the food or products.

D) Respondents Behaviour

1.

Bil 1.

Statement When the first time I buy a food, I will read a food label which present at the packaging. I will buy food products that contain a nutrients functional declaration that present on the label which is good for my health. I use all the information that present on the label for planning my daily diet.

Never Sometimes Always 0 15 15

2.

15

14

3.

17

Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, and where people do or do not buy products. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economists. It attempts to
understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants.

Based on the table, it can be seen that half or the students ticked for sometimes and half ticked always for statement number 1. So, this proven that people commonly will read the food label which present at the packaging. They would like to know the halal for Muslim and maybe they want to know the ingredients of the food. For question number 2, it can be seen that only one student answered never for statement I will buy a food products that contain a nutrients functional declaration that present on the label which is good for my health. She or he might not concern about his or her health at all instead of buying whatever types of food she or he wants to eat. Meanwhile, those who answered sometimes or always means that the take are good care and concern about their health. The statement of I use all the information that present on the label for planning my daily diet shows 17 of student answered sometimes. They said that they only will read the food labeling when they have extra time or when they remember to do so. Supposedly, consumer should do this act so the can have balance diet through what they had choose to eat from the food labeling. The conclusion is, we can maintain our health by controlling what we will eat and choose the best type of food through the labeling. By doing this way, we can maintain our health. Besides that, we can prevent ourselves from any diseases caused of food.

2.

Bil 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Information of food labelling Calorie Fat Calorie Total Fat Saturated Fat Cholesterol Total Carbohydrate Sugar Calcium Protein Iron Fiber Vitamin C Vitamin A Sodium Health Declaration Food Declaration Serving Size

Yes 26 22 26 15 26 23 26 20 24 11 17 23 17 11 17 19 17

No 4 8 4 15 4 7 10 10 6 19 13 7 13 19 13 11 13

Every package of food shows the amounts per serving. The total calories and the calories from fat are listed. These numbers will help consumers make decisions about fat intake. The list of nutrients (total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, protein) includes those most important to the health of today's consumer. The amount, in grams (g) or milligrams (mg), per serving of these nutrients is listed to their immediate right. Meanwhile, for vitamins and minerals only two vitamins (A and C) and two minerals (calcium and iron) are required on the food label. Food companies can voluntarily list other vitamins and minerals in the food. When vitamins or minerals are added to the food, or when a vitamin or mineral claim is made, those nutrients must be listed on the nutrition label.

Based on the table, we can see that calorie, sugar, protein, carbohydrate, total fat, calcium, fat calorie and Vitamin C are the most respondents choices when they want to refer to the food labelling. They got all these kind of nutrition from the nutrition fact. They are making choices based on what they know. They only know the common nutrition only. That why all these nutrition are highest tick able. Other than that, people may choose to buy food related to their health. Those who had diabetes will choose the food that contain less sugar, those who facing cholesterol problem will buy food which is less cholesterol or those who are obese will buy and eat food that contain less fat and total fat. For conclusion, we should know how to gain healthy life based on the food that we ate. Nutrition Fact encouraging us to seek out the Nutrition Facts on the food label, understand the information it provides, and use it for making healthful choices related to our own dietary management. Also, Comparing items using the food label can help us to choose the best value for our health.

E) Factor Towards Food Labeling

1. Stimulator factor

Bil 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Statement To get information for the food product To control body weight Be foster since child My family members use it My friends use it Become my habit Get a satisfication when use it My family always remind me Support a government campaign Other factors

Yes 27 21 9 10 13 19 20 7 15 2

No 3 9 21 20 17 11 10 23 15 28

Based on the table. It can be seen that mostly answered yes for statement to get information for the food product which are 27 person among 30. This means that they concern about their health. WHO definition of Health mention health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. From the data recorded, 21 students answered yes for statement to control body weight. Mostly female take a good care on this aspect very much. So they take this seriously and actually this behavior is good. Meanwhile, 20 from 30 students answered yes for get satisfaction when use it, which means they fell worth when buy and eat the food that contain what the want to. For an example, she wants to drink hot chocolate water with less sugar, so she will buy the less sugar and satisfied with it. Supposedly, family plays an important part to make sure that their children will practice this kind of behavior which is read the food labeling before buy or eat. This is one of the main factors on why these kinds of attitude are less among younger now a days. This

proven as we can see it based on the table where 23 of student ticked no for statement my family always remind me. Parent also should be a good model so their children will follow and get used of it. In conclusion, all these kind of excuses do not appear. Everyone should look at this matter seriously and keep in mind that read the food labeling is a very good attitude and can give benefit rather than diseases by choosing the right food based on its food labeling.

2. Prevent factor

Bil 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Statement Do not understand the information that present on the food label Do not have interested about information that present on food label Do not have time Do not realize that food label is exist Lazy Do not be foster since a child My family members do not use it My friends do not use it Not my habit Do not get the satisfication Do not ready Do not know campaign held by the government Other factors

Yes 8 10 16 3 20 12 11 9 13 12 11 9 0

No 12 20 14 27 10 18 19 21 17 18 19 21 0

This table shows what are the prevent factors of why they do not read the food labelling before eat or buy food in their daily life. Food labels contain a wealth of information about the healthfulness of the product if you know what to look for and how to interpret them. The packaging of a food product tells you nothing about how healthy the product is. It tells you what the manufacturer wants you to think about the healthfulness of the product. So read the food label is very important.

Even though read the food labelling is important, yet, there still occur the reasons on why they did not read the food label. Based on the table, it can be seen that most of them which are 20 students said that they were lazy to do it, and only 10 who take this seriously. Furthermore, we should alert of what is happening around us. We should know if government held a campaign related to food labelling or related to our health and we should join and support the campaign, supposedly the 9 students that were not know the campaign should open their eyes and know what is the latest and current issues happening. As we now living at the modern and high-technology world, we should keep in mind that read the food labelling is important. We exposed to environment where people now a days are facing problem caused of food they ate. This might happened if we eat without control the nutrition in proper way. So, as food labels contain a wealth of information about the healthfulness of the product if we know what to look for and how to interpret them. The packaging of a food product tells you nothing about how healthy the product is. It tells you what the manufacturer wants you to think about the healthfulness of the product. All these kinds of excuses should not appear and will not be a factor on why people not read the food labelling.

Discussion

The nutrient composition of processed and prepared foods, however, has specific characteristics that create disincentives for producers to disclose nutritional information. First, for disclosure to be effective, consumers must be able to infer the quality of products for which there is no disclosure; that is, how inferior in quality are products without disclosure compared with products that have disclosure. For nutritional attributes such as fiber or calcium that have a positive health value, consumers may assume that undisclosed products have none of the attribute. For negative attributes such as energy, fat, or sodium, there is no such natural upper bound. Therefore, consumers will have difficulty in assessing the inferiority of products that do not disclose compared with products that do. This may limit the flow of information under a voluntary disclosure regime. Second, and perhaps more important, ingredients that are positively valued by consumers for their taste (sugar, oils, salt) also provide the nutrients (calories, fat, sodium) that are negatively valued for their health effects. Human taste for food is largely determined by fat, sugar, and salt (Drewnowski, 1998; Levine et al., 2003). Therefore, producers use more of these ingredients to make their products more desirable. If revealing the nutritional characteristics associated with these ingredients reduces the demand for their products, producers have an incentive against supplying the information. Consumers may use the information to make more healthful dietary choices, and this may result in better health outcomes such as a reduction in morbidity and mortality associated with poor diet quality and obesity. Factors such as whether the information is important to a large number of consumers (or extremely important to a small group of consumers), the relative health effects of specific attributes listed on the labels, and the ease with which information can be used by individuals, will determine whether labeling will alter behaviour enough to make a significant difference in health outcomes. Large benefits are gained if intake of a dietary component that poses a conclusive and significant health risk is altered following disclosure. One study of food intake among normal weight women found that explaining the concept of energy density (amount of calories per gram of food) and providing nutrition information on labels during meals had no impact on subjects energy intake. The pattern of food intake was similar between subjects who received information and those who did not

(Kral et al., 2002). experiment in an actual restaurant setting in England found that provision of nutrition information had no effect on overall energy and fat intake (Stubenitsky et al., 2000).

These findings suggest that the benefits of labeling (a change in consumer behavior leading to better nutritional outcomes) may be small or uncertain at best. However, consumer response to labeling may depend on how the infor mation is provided, the content of the information, and the type of consumer receiving the information. Response to labeling or related forms of information disclosure may also vary depending on the nutrient densities of the offerings. Perhaps the largest benefit of labeling may accrue when consumers change their food choices based on the nutrition information provided by the labels. Although such substitutions may not change nutritional or health outcomes substantially, consumers benefit from being able to make food choices that are better aligned with their preferences.

Conclusion
Food label have the potential to become one of the most important tools for providing nutrition education and information to the public. The food label gives consumers the power to compare foods quickly and easily so they can judge for themselves which products best fit their dietary needs. It has been hypothesized that use of the current food label could result in a decrease in chronic, diet-related diseases, such as coronary heart disease and some cancers. Besides that, consumers often compare prices of food items in the grocery store to choose the best value for their money. But comparing items using the food label can help them choose the best value for their health. Not only that, the students should learn to practice themselves to use the food labeling when purchasing food. This will help them to manage healthy eating. Students also need to know what are the correct way to use the food labeling instead of just read the labels on. They must know some basic knowledge about food labeling to prevent from become a victim of misleading labeling or counterfeit labeling especially on the expired date. Hence, the students should not take for granted this issue on food labeling.

References

Drewnowski, A. 1998 Energy density, palatability, and satiety: Implications for weight control. Nutrition Reviews. 56: 347-353.

Kral, T.V.E., L.S. Roe, and B.J. Rolls. 2002. Does nutrition information about the energy density of meals affect food intake in normal-weight women? Appetite. 39: 137-145.

http://www.goforyourlife.vic.gov.au/hav/articles.nsf/pracpages/Menu_labelling_does_nutrition_inf ormation_at_point_of_purchase_affect_consumer_behaviour?open

Padberg, D. 1999 Nutritional Labeling for Food-Away-From-Home. Paper presented at the conference New Economic Approaches to Consumer Welfare and Nutrition, Alexandria VA, January 14-15,.

Stubenitsky, K., J.I. Aaron, S.L. Catt, and D.J. Mela. 2000. The influence of recipe modification and nutritional information on restaurant food acceptance and macronutrient intakes. Public Health Nutrition. 3201-209.

Appendix