Label Labyrinth Global consumers are checking nutrition labels but still need help understanding them, a Nielsen survey shows

THESE days, more global consumers are checking nutrition labels on groceries, but still need help understanding them. Malaysians, it turns out, are most interested in the amount of preservatives and coloring in packaged food. Two in three (66%) global online consumers say they take notice of packaged goods labels containing nutritional information compared to two years ago but less than half of consumers (44%) claim to mostly understand what they're reading ?according to findings from an Internet survey on Food Labeling and Nutrition conducted in 51 countries, and released in September by The Nielsen Company. According to the Nielsen survey, one in five (24%) global consumers said they always check nutritional info when buying packaged goods and more will do so when they are thinking about buying a product for the first time. While 68% of Asia Pacific consumers say they take notice of the nutritional information on packaging more now than two years ago, the figure for Malaysia is slightly below the regional average, at 64%. However, Malaysians scored higher than the average consumer in the region when it comes to actively seeking out information on food labels.

Malaysians Take Note

Of consumers surveyed in Malaysia, 27% have cultivated the habit of regularly checking nutritional labeling on packaged food, compared to just a quarter (25%) in Asia Pacific. Consumers in Malaysia also tend to pay more attention to food labels in specific situations, the top two most common instances being when they are buying a product for the first time or when buying certain food types (Chart 1). "Our survey findings clearly demonstrate the degree to which health and diet have taken a pivotal role in our lifestyles," said Linda Lim, director, The Nielsen Company Malaysia. "The need for clear and educational labeling has become one of the most debated, controversial topics in recent few years and the pressure is on for the food industry to take greater responsibility for educating people about what they're eating." In general, Malaysians appear to be savvier now when it comes to understanding nutritional labels, compared to three years back. Close to a third of the respondents (33%) claimed to understand most of the info, whereas over three in five understood in part. Compared to the 2005 findings, a significant shift (10%) is seen in the number of people who now appear to be able to comprehend most of the information on nutritional labels, rather than only in part. The people who said they did not at all understood nutritional labeling remained low at four percent (Chart 3).

More Keep Tabs

Consumers in Asia Pacific have quickly caught up with the global food labeling trend in the past three years. In 2005, 21% said they will always check the nutritional information on the package when they buy packaged food, compared to 25% this time round. In the 2008 survey, 34% of Asians also said they checked nutritional information when they're thinking of buying a product for the first time and 27% said they checked when buying certain types of food. "The development of supermarkets and the modern trade in emerging markets in the last 10 years has brought a plethora of new packaged products to consumers. As such, nutritional information on packaging serves to educate shoppers on what they are buying and eating," said Ms Lim.

Motivated by Weight Concerns

Trying to lose weight seems to be a key motivation for consumers to check the nutritional labels, especially for Australians (24%) and Kiwis (20%) in Asia Pacific. Interestingly across Asia Pacific, only one in 10 said they would check food labels when they are buying for their children. Air Jordan