@article{article_1645418, title={Evaluation of Consumers’ Ability to Use and Understand Food Labels}, journal={İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi}, pages={140–152}, year={2025}, DOI={10.38079/igusabder.1645418}, author={Yıldırım, Güldane and Çakır, Muhammet Ali}, keywords={Besin etiketi, beslenme bilgisi, tüketici araştırması}, abstract={Aim: This study aimed to examine consumers’ ability to use and understand food labeling. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2024 with 403 consumers aged 18-64 years living in Kırklareli, who volunteered to participate. Data were collected face-to-face using the Personal Information Form and Food Label Understanding and Use Skills Questionnaire (FLUUSQ). Results: The mean age was 36.32 ± 12.25 years (range: 18-64) and 50.1% of the participants were male. The mean FLUUSQ score of the participants was 6.20±2.81 (Range: 0-10). Participants younger than 35 years of age (p=0.005), single (p=0.001), with an associate’s degree or higher (p=0.000), and with previous nutrition education (p=0.000) had statistically significantly higher mean FLUUSQ scores. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean FLUUSQ scores and participants’ shopping preferences, frequency of food label use, and time of reading food label information (p<0.05). The mean FLUUSQ scores were significantly higher among those who use food labels for nutritional (p=0.000) and health (p=0.012) needs, those who used the nutritional claim (p=0.001) and those who understood the information on the food label (p=0.002) were significantly higher. Consumers demonstrated an intermediate ability to use and understand food labels.
Conclusion: Consumers’ ability to use and understand food labeling was significantly influenced by factors such as age, education, nutrition knowledge, and label usage habits. It is recommended to strengthen nutrition education and promote awareness about food labeling to enhance consumers’ ability to make informed dietary choices.}, number={25}, publisher={İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi}