Consumers’ Understanding and Usage of Food Labels in Purchasing Decisions in Kwara State, Nigeria

Food labels are the primary means of educating consumers on packaged content. With the rising urbanization in Nigeria and its corresponding change in lifestyle toward increased consumption of packaged food products, it is crucial to deepen consumers’ knowledge of food labels. The study aimed to evaluate consumer awareness of food labels in Kwara State, Nigeria; understand their impact on purchasing behavior, analyze the factors influencing consumer understanding of food labels, and identify constraints to their usage. A total of 150 randomly selected respondents provided primary data, which was analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinal logit regression. The patrons were youthful (38.6years), mostly educated, with 65% being female, and 40% belonging to less than 4 member-households. Food labels were unimportant to 17% of the respondents whereas 17% were knowledgeable about food labelling. Only 11.3% of the respondents are very intentional in their use of food labels in making decisions. About 68.2% of respondents don't check allergen information on labels, 60% lack knowledge about food regulatory bodies in Nigeria, and 22% find food label quality irrelevant to purchasing behavior. Determinants of consumers’ level of understanding include: (+) educational status, product health claims, health knowledge, consumer’s health status, (-) language/terminology, label orientation, and gender (p < 0.05). The study reveals that consumers' awareness and usage of food labels in Kwara State are significantly low due to language complexity, time factor, and language barriers. We recommend manufacturers and regulatory agencies to develop standardized, legible labels and focus on local language labeling for better inclusion.