CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF FOOD LABELLING INFORMATION IN KLIPGAT REGION, OF SOUTH AFRICA

Food labels are the first source of information customers come across when sourcing a food product. Labels provide information about the ingredients, nutritional content, allergens, as well as the origin and advice on the food’s processing and preservation conditions. This information allows the consumer to make informed food choices. Although food labels are provided to help consumers choose healthy foods, it is not established whether they know and understand the information to use to their advantage. The need to comprehend consumer knowledge, understand food labelling information, and whether it could influence consumer choices are vital to researchers, policymakers, and the food industry. The study investigated the knowledge and understanding of food labelling information among Klipgat consumers. In a cross-sectional community-based study with a structured questionnaire, 400 participants were conveniently interviewed on consumer knowledge, understanding of information, and utilization of labelling information. A chi-square for the association of variables compared differences in the districts, and p-value