Avaliação do conhecimento sobre a nova rotulagem de alimentos e sua influência na compra e no consumo de produtos

Abstract

The new food labeling rules brought changes to the nutritional information table and front nutritional labeling. These changes make it easier to view nutritional information, highlight products with a high content of added sugar, saturated fat and sodium, in addition to helping consumers make healthier choices when purchasing and consuming food. Within this context, the objective was to evaluate consumers' understanding of the new food labeling rules and to verify how the changes brought about impact on food purchase and consumption decisions. A questionnaire with 29 questions was prepared to collect sociodemographic data and food labeling. Participants were recruited through a formal invitation sent via email and social networks, such as Whatsapp and Instagram. 68.6% of participants had already heard about the new food labeling, 54.4% of respondents who always read the labels noticed the changes in the nutritional information table (p = <0.001) and 57.5% said they had no difficulties to interpret the nutritional information table. 84.4% of participants saw front labeling on some food, 235 (52.34%) participants stopped buying a product due to the information contained in the front labeling, however in relation to consumption, 259 (57.68%) demonstrated that they were indifferent to the information contained in the front labeling. Thus, it is concluded that consumers are aware of the new labeling and have stopped buying some food due to the presence of front nutritional labeling, however they have not stopped consuming any product. Furthermore, consumers have noticed the changes in the nutritional information table, have no difficulty interpreting it, and use it to check portions and compare products, helping their choices.