Abstract:
A Dissertation in the Department of HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
EDUCATION, Faculty of VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, submitted to the
School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba, in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for award of the Master of Technology (Catering
and Hospitality) degree
Description:
The practice of reading and using food labelling information in purchasing pre-packaged
food is very important. Unfortunately, in most communities in Ghana, people are not used
to reading pre-packaged food labels. The study aimed at creating awareness of prepackaged
food labelling among consumers. The objectives of the study were to determine
awareness level of consumers of pre-packaged food labelling information; identify the
effect of the food labelling information in purchasing pre-packaged foods; and assess the
challenges consumers encounter in reading and understanding food labels on pre-packaged
foods. The study adopted the mixed-method design. Simple random sampling technique
was used to sample 276 consumers. Data was gathered using questionnaire and interviews.
The study revealed that most of the consumers were aware of food labelling information on
pre-packaged foods by reading the list of ingredients on food packages 94.7%, reading the
expiration dates on food packages 95.7%. Reading and looking out for the country of origin
on food package 72.8%, reading the food storage and handling instructions on food
packages 85.0%, and reading and checking the organic seal/certification on food packages
80.1%. The study further found that price, manufacturing date, and appearance of the prepackaged
food had effect on the purchasing decisions of consumers. It appeared from the
study that level of education of consumers, lack of understanding of food labels,
uncertainty about accuracy of information and lack of interest in the information on the
food labels affected consumers‘ ability to read the food labels. Based on this, conclusions
were made that food labelling is very important because it informs consumers on the
contents of the food they are purchasing and it was recommended that manufacturers of
food items should ensure that the lists of ingredients or contents of the food are written on
the food labels. Also, consumers should check the manufacturing date (best before, expiry
date) of food items before they buy them.
