| National Agri-food Labeling and Improvement of Consumers’ Utilization | |||
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| Author | Kim, Sanghyo | ||
| Views | 60372 | Publication Date | 2019.02.14 |
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Background of Study As agri-food products are made through multiple stages including production, distribution, processing, and packaging, there is a variety of information that suppliers know but consumers may not know. Studies on consumer use of food labels are limited as most studies have mainly focused on the perspective of food labeling providers. Consumers in Korea are aware of the importance of agri-food labeling, but their utilization rate is not high enough. The frequent food-related incidents and accidents caused the reliability of food labeling to be low. The majority of consumers claim that there are too many agri-food labels and certifications that bring confusion to consumers, but some argue that it is necessary to increase the food labels on fresh foods, home meal replacement (HMR) foods, foods at restaurants, and delivery and take-out foods. There is still a lack of policy interest in promoting healthier food choices. The international community is emphasizing the function of the food labeling to promote healthier food choices. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide the agri-food labeling utilization improvement strategies for consumers by identifying and evaluating the general status of the agri-food labeling in Korea and deriving the actual use and review of the agri-food labeling of consumers. Study Methods We reviewed the related literature to identify the role, function, and purpose of agri-food labeling. A series of processes from determining factors to consumers’ utilization of agri-food labeling to their impacts were conceptually established. We used a linear regression model to investigate the relationship between the determining factors to consumers’ utilization of agri-food labeling and their impacts, using the data from the food consumption behavior survey by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI). Advisory meetings with policymakers were held to identify the current state of labeling policies and issues. We also held Focus Group Discussion (FGD) five times with experts on agri-food labeling and Focus Group Interviews (FGIs) three times with consumers. The qualitative evaluation of the level of consumers' utilization of food labeling and their perception was conducted through these interviews. For the quantitative evaluation of them, we analyzed the consumer survey data. We examined the agri-food labeling system in other developed countries and derived implications. The analysis of the labeling policies in the U.S. and EU and the literature review on the policy implications were jointly conducted with Professor Lee Sanghyeon of Kangwon National University. We presented this study at the OECD International Conference on October 16, 2018, and incorporated the comments from the representatives of member countries into this study. Results and Implications ￭ Conceptual Framework of the Food Labeling Utilization The conceptual framework of the food labeling utilization illustrates that consumers go through the following stages until they use the information on food labels: ① being exposed to food labels, ② acknowledging/recognizing the existence of food labels, ③ understanding the information correctly, ④ taking a confirming action, ⑤ food purchase decision-making which is the last stage of utilizing the food labels. Factors affecting the above process are 1) reliability and satisfaction with the food labels, 2) individual characteristics such as sociodemographic characteristics, product selection criteria, and personal motivation, 3) food policies such as the quality of food labeling policies and campaigns for public awareness. We test if the conceptual framework is valid and find the empirical evidence that the certified product purchase experience has a positive relationship with the confirmation of food labels, reliability, and satisfaction. We also could find that the group who read food labels more than the previous year showed improved dietary competency measured with the purchasing environmental competency index, the safe diet competency index, and the healthy diet competency index. This suggests that improving food labeling utilization would positively affect consumers’ health and nutritional status. ￭ Agri-food Labeling Policy Agri-food labeling is provided by five central government ministries including the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and eighteen laws. All agri-food labeling is divided into five categories according to the following attributes: 1) hygiene and safety attributes, 2) nutrition and health attributes, 3) environmental and ethical attributes, 4) quality and standard attributes, and 5) product specification and information attributes. Hygiene and safety attributes include Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Nutrition and health attributes include nutrition labels (including nutrition level indication) and sodium content labels. Environmental and ethical attributes include organic, pesticide-free produce, non-antibiotic livestock product certification while quality and standard attributes include traditional food quality certification, agricultural product standard labeling. Product specification and information attributes include basic information (product name, content, etc.), other precautions, binge drinking warning signs, and recycling and garbage signs. ￭ Consumers’ Utilization of Agri-food Labeling As a result of analyzing food consumption behavior data by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, it is confirmed that 55.6% of adult consumers find agri-food important, but only 16.0% of those surveyed responded that they use agri-food labels at the purchase decision stage of the buying process. When comparing the number of consumers who read labels by food type, the food type with the highest rate was packaged meat (75.1%), followed by unpackaged meat (72.3%), grain (60.5%), packaged vegetables and fruit (58.0%), home meal replacement (HMR) foods (57.2%), processed foods (57.1%), and unpackaged vegetables and fruit (56.1%). When purchasing fresh food online, only 51.4% of the respondents answered that they would read the food labels, which was lower than offline purchases. Also, 38.6% of the respondents answered that they would read the food labels when eating out. ￭ Consumers’ Perceptions and Evaluations on Agri-food Labels The result of surveying consumers’ awareness of each food labeling system showed that there is no labeling system that more than 60% of consumers are well aware of. Although most labeling systems have gained increased awareness, the awareness level is still low. The awareness levels of the origin (58.2%), KS mark for processed foods (47.7%) and the organic certification (46.3%) are relatively high while the consumer awareness of other information on the labels was below 30%. ￭ Agri-food Labeling in Developed Countries and Implications We derive the following implications by examining the food labeling system, policy changes and consumers’ use of the labels in the U.S., EU, and Japan. First, food labels and nutrition facts are being integrated. For example, in the EU the new regulations on food labeling were initiated from December 13, 2014 by integrating the previous labeling law of food and the nutrition facts guidelines. Likewise, the new food labeling law was initiated in Japan from April 1, 2015 by integrating the previous food labeling regulations by the Japanese Agricultural Standard Law and the Health Promotion Act. If different ministries' food labeling systems have a similar purpose and expected role, it would be efficient to manage them through cooperation between ministries. Second, the provision of food labels is expanding to meet consumers’ needs. In the United States, consumers are able to obtain calorie and nutrition information from chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments. In the UK, even when purchasing food products online or by phone or mail order, consumers can gain the food information at the same level as when purchasing food in a retail environment through the websites or catalogs. In Korea, it will be necessary to expand the health and nutrition labeling information system to various channels where food purchasing occurs to reflect new consumers’ demand. Third, the way of displaying the food label is improving. The current trends of agri-food certification and labeling systems in the U.S. and EU are focused on providing consumers with essential information in a more effective way. It is noteworthy that the voluntary nutrition labeling schemes that display main nutrient contents in a chart form, such as Facts Up Front in the U.S., 1 plus 4 model in Germany and Nutri-Score labeling system in France, are being enforced to help consumers in their decision making process. If these schemes are activated in Korea, consumers can easily access the information they need and make informed choices. Fourth, various methods of delivering nutritional information to consumers are being developed. Nutrition facts labels on the shelves, the utilization of nudge in a healthy direction at the purchasing point, the introduction of smart labels can be good examples of various ways of delivering agri-food information. In particular, some U.S. retailers including Giant Food, Shop & Shop, SuperValu, and United Supermarkets are using their own nutrition labeling on the shelves for marketing some items. Lastly, certifications by non-government organizations are increasingly used. Regarding the U.S. industry certification, manufacturers voluntarily provide information on their labels through their own quality certification system. In Japan, each item of agri-food products in the market presents the certification by related associations. We find that establishing a certification system that flexibly manages diverse private certifications will help to promptly respond to changes in market environments. ￭ Directions to Enhance Consumers’ Utilization of Agri-food Labeling The directions to enhance the utilization of agri-food labeling include ① building a consumer-friendly labeling system, ② adapting to changing food consumption trends, ③ enhancing the reliability of food labeling, and ④ promoting healthy food choices. In order to improve agri-food consumers’ labeling utilization, it is necessary to 1) adjust the overall system of food labeling to be consumer-friendly, minimize the area of information that can be duplicated or misunderstood, improve the awareness and understanding of food labeling, 2) meet the new food label demand of consumers in accordance with the changing trends in food consumption (e.g., increase in online and home shopping, Home Meal Replacement (HMR) expansion, and food truck popularization), 3) strengthen the trust in food labels provided by the government through improvement of labeling and management systems as well as the labeling methods. Lastly, 4) smart labeling policy needs to be designed and implemented to encourage consumers to make healthy food choices and benefit from the agri-food information featured on food products. ￭ Detailed Strategies for Enhancing Utilization of Agri-food Labeling Detailed strategies include ① selection and concentration of basic components required for food labels, ② expansion of food labels that respond to consumers’ demands, ③ consumer-oriented maintenance of agricultural product certification marks, ④ use of easy-to-understand food labeling methods for consumers, ⑤ establishment of the institutional and organizational basis for healthy food choices, ⑥ effective labeling education and promotion, and ⑦ improvement of the reliability of agri-food labeling. Researchers: Kim Sanghyo, Lee Gyeim, Hong Yeona, Heo Seongyoon Research period: 2018. 1. ~ 2018. 10. E-mail address: skim@krei.re.kr |
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