Consumers’ Perception and Attitude Towards Nutrition Labelling in Tehran, Iran

The impending international challenges facing Iran will continue to be dominant and affect its economic prospect considerably. With an increasing trend towards globalization, Iran would be faced with sweeping technological changes in food manufacturing that requires the altering of methods and ways of conducting their businesses. The emergence of new competitors is fostering competition, opening new markets and expanding existing ones. It is prudent that authorities in Iran seriously consider having regulations for nutrition labelling in order to become competitive in the global market. Nutrition label is one aspect of food labelling. It is a food label providing nutrition information concerning nutrient and energy values per designated size portion. The principle reason for nutrition labelling is that the consumers have a right to know what is in the purchased foods so that consumers can make better decisions for their own well being and that of their children. Although public concern and apprehension about nutritious diet have increased recently, much of the debate about healthy food has been at a scientific level where the technical words used are not easily understood by the general public. The objective of this research is to find the degree of awareness and utilization of nutrition labelling by consumers in order to determine the factors that influence consumers to read labels. In the survey, 1200 respondents were interviewed to determine their awareness, perceptions and attitudes towards nutrition labelling. Descriptive analyses, Chisquare analysis, factor analysis and regression logistic method were applied in analysing the data. The descriptive analysis was used to discuss the socio-economics profile in terms of distribution and percentage. The awareness, attitude and perception analysis towards nutrition label used the same technique in term of percentage and mean. Cross tabulations were applied to identify the relationship between demographic factors and nutrition label in the different aspects. The factor analysis is a general scientific method for analyzing data. It utilizes a linear approach to the reduction and summarization of data and comprises a large set of techniques with similar purpose. The regression logistic model was applied to determine the correlation between reading nutrition label and being influenced by source of nutrition information. In general, the findings show that the majority of the consumers have heard about nutrition labels and once a while they check or read the nutrition information, but only a ratio of the consumers have a right perception towards nutrition labels. However, most consumers buy food products which has nutrition label, but only a small portion of them purchase food product based on information is written on the nutrition label. The survey reveals that majority of consumers believe that food product which carry nutrition label is healthier. The study also found that there are relationships between demographic factors and perception towards nutrition labelling on the food products in different aspects. Based on factor analysis, eight factors were identified that can influence the purchasing food products based on nutrition label. These factors were as follows; utilizing nutrition labelling, degree of awareness, trust ability, product price, health conscious, safe conscious, and government involvement and manufactured practiced. The study concluded that the Iranian government should make use of education as a medium to introduce nutrition labelling policies and launch promotions on healthy aspects through mass media to improve the awareness of consumers. The government has to control and encourage the producers who look at nutrition label as solution to introducing standard manufactured foods or developing the product at international level. The producers and processors should be provided with enough knowledge on how to put right and correct nutrition labelling by following the rules and regulations of international norms. Consumers should also be aware and understand the importance of nutrition labelling and how this information can influence their future purchasing and untimely affect their health

Consumers’ Confidence in Halal Labeled Manufactured Food in Malaysia

The impending international challenges facing Malaysia will continue to be dominant and will affect its economic prospects considerably. With an increasing trend towards globalization, Malaysia will face sweeping technological changes in food manufacturing which require re-examining strategies of conducting their businesses. Currently, the key areas for growth and development in the food processing industry in Malaysia are functional and convenience foods, food ingredients and halal foods. Today, halal stands not only for the way of slaughter and preparation of food but also for animal welfare, social justice and sustainable environment. The lack of enforcement in monitoring the usage of certified halal food has caused the public to question the validity of some of the products that were claimed to be halal. The objective of this study is to gather information on consumers’ confidence towards halal labeled food and to assess the level of confidence of the halalness of food products which carry halal logo. This study used data collected from a consumers’ survey via structured questionnaire. Eighteen hundred and sixty (1860) respondents were interviewed in order to obtain their confidence on halal food products. The questions asked included subjects such as confidence, perceptions and attitudes toward halal food, awareness and reasons for using Halal logo. A Likert scale of 1 to 5 (1 representing not confident and 5 representing very much confident) was used to measure consumer’ confidence on the statements formulated in relation to Halal manufactured food products. In this study, the descriptive analysis, chi-square, factor analysis, and binary logistic and multinomial logit method were applied to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the majority of the Muslim consumers are concerned about halal food and the Halal logos on food products. Even though it is shown that consumers react more positively to halal food with local halal logo, there is still enough evidence to support that consumers are more careful in evaluating the halalness of all kinds of food products by referring to the list of ingredients. Nevertheless, most consumers are able to differentiate Malaysian halal logo from others, regardless of the presence of products’ brand on the food packaging. Based on factor analysis, six factors that influenced the purchase of food products on the basis of halal labeling were identified. These factors are; confidence with Halal logo, degree of awareness, trustworthiness, safety and health consciousness, governmental involvement and manufacturing practices. In general, various socio-economic and attitude factors significantly influenced the likelihood of consumers’ confidence on JAKIM halal logo. Apparently, the consumption of halal food for non-Muslims is different from the consumption of halal food for Muslims. The religious concern and safety concepts associated to halal foods probably make this decision more important for the consumers especially Muslims, and thereby lead to different decision-making processes. In addition it can be observed that consumers are very sensitive to halal information and any information or knowledge that might result in loss of their confidence level which might affect their intended purchasing decisions. Misuse, modification or unauthorized access to halal logo on food products can adversely affect an individual’s confident intention and overall business trading. As a matter of fact, Malaysian government, policy makers , food manufacturers and related institutions should fulfil the needs of consumers in order to restore any confidence lost. There should be an efficient coordination throughout all the marketing chain from government to producers in order to offer trustworthy and reliable halal labeled food products

Healthy eating: the preventive factors among Malaysians

The paper investigates the factors perceived to be important barriers to healthy eating among Malaysian adults. Data were collected from a random sample of 1719 adults throughout Malaysia via a self-administered questionnaire. Findings show that the most important perceived barriers to healthy eating were unavailability and limited choice of healthy food away from home, time constraints and busy lifestyle. Exploratory factor analysis of 22-item in perceived barriers domain revealed four factors that accounted for 76% of the variance in perceived barriers to healthy eating, namely: physical; knowledge and social; lack of time; and unavailable healthy choices. The findings of this study implied the needs for provision of wide selection and availability of healthy food to the consumers as well as promoting the nutrition and healthy eating messages effectively

The complementary effect of Halal Principles and sustainable concept.

This paper focuses on Malaysian Muslims perspective towards food safety, environment and animal welfare aspects of Halal principles in manufactured foods. Cross-sectional consumer data were collected through a survey. One thousand seven hundreds and sixteen (1,716) Muslim respondents all over Peninsular Malaysia were interviewed randomly via structured questionnaire in 2009 to address the issues on Muslim consumers' understanding and perspective of Halal principles and its relation to food safety, environmentally friendly and animal welfare. Descriptive and Chi-square analysis were used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that majority of respondent relate Halal principles to food safety because Halal principle not only about slaughtering of animals but must also be Tyoibah or clean. The consumers from East of Peninsular Malaysia, with higher level religiosity and education level are more likely to understand the true meaning of Halal principles. Measuring the extent of consumers' understanding of Halal principles is vital, since Halal does not only focus on the Islamic processing but also sustainable concept of hygiene, sanitation and safety

Public attitude toward urban agriculture in Malaysia: study on values and knowledge in Klang Valley

Urban agriculture has drawn attention in Malaysia as a response to economic crisis, food security, and sustainable development. As population grows, the need to provide more jobs and food is becoming more complex both economically and physically. There is no doubt that in Malaysia urban agriculture will play a key role in the livelihood strategies of urban households. The interest in urban agriculture in the country has brought with it the reason to explore public attitude toward getting more involved in this practice. Cross-sectional data were collected, via a structured questionnaire, to gather information on how household values shape attitudes toward urban agriculture. Exploratory factor analysis is used to categorize values, while multiple regression analysis predicts the significant relationship between household knowledge, assigned values, underling values, and household attitude toward urban agriculture. Prior knowledge and values appear, therefore, to significantly shape the attitude of households in Malaysia

Assessment of consumers' confidence on Halal labelled manufactured food in Malaysia

Consumers' confidence in Halal labelled food is shaped by numerous factors. These include advertising, information on food ingredients and announcements, various Halal claims, and warnings on non Halal food products which carry a Halal logo. A survey was conducted among 1560 Muslim respondents all over Malaysia via a structured questionnaire to evaluate and assess consumers' degree of confidence in manufactured Halal labelled food products and the Halal logo that comes with them. A descriptive statistic was used to identify the socio-economic/demographic characteristics and confidence of the respondents toward the Halal labelled food. The logit model was used to determine the extent to which selected socio-economic/demographic characteristics and attitudinal factors influenced the respondents' opinions towards and confidence in Halal labelled food products. In general, various socio-economic/demographic and attitudinal characteristics were found to significantly influence the likelihood of the respondents' degree of confidence in the "halalness" of manufactured food products that carry the Halal logo. The older generation, particularly the rural folk, and those with higher education level and higher level of religiosity seemed to be likely less confident with the Halal labelled food products. Meanwhile, attitudinal factors such as without JAKIM Halal logo, food products from non-Muslim countries, unfamiliar brand and no clear list of ingredients make consumers feel less confident with the products. Thus, most Malaysians are still unsure or do not have the full confidence in the Halal labelled food products with regard to its "halalness". Thus, monitoring and enforcement of the Halal laws and regulations have to be carried out on a regular basis to build consumers' confidence towards these products

The effect of possessing information about Halal logo on consumer confidence in Malaysia

Consumer confidence in Halal food and logo are shaped by numerous factors that include information on food ingredients, various Halal claims, and warnings on non-Halal products. The study attempted to construct consumer behavior of respondents through 3 approaches: after giving information, before giving information, and without information on Halal food based on the 2006 publication by the Consumer Association of Penang. This was done in order to predict the effect of Halal information on consumers' confidence while purchasing Halal-manufactured foods from 1,560 Muslim respondents residing in Malaysia. The multinomial logit model was used to estimate the parameters and the likelihood of the level of confidence differing among the 3 groups of respondents in this study. The results indicate that consumers are sensitive to the fact that any false information may result in the loss of their confidence level and it would also affect their intended purchasing decisions

Preference for locally grown or imported fruit among the millennial generation in Johor, Malaysia

This study attempts to explore factors influencing the choice of locally grown or imported fruits among young Malaysians. It investigates how consumer preference, socioeconomics, and demographic profiles can affect their choice of which fruit category they pick. Five hundred respondents were interviewed by using a structured questionnaire to collect information related to their fruit preferences and choices. The millennium generation in Malaysia, especially the Malay living in Johor, were surveyed as a representation of future consumers of fruit and their subsequent choices and demand. Factor analysis was carried out on statements regarding consumer preferences on choices of local or imported fruit. Five factors were identified as the outstanding consumer preferences for fruits. Demographic profiles of the respondents such as family size, and dimension of fruit preferences, including country of origin, perceived quality, and environmental concerns, were important factors that affect consumers’ purchasing behavior in choosing locally grown or imported fruits. Logit regression indicated that family size, country of origin product quality, perceived quality, and variety of fruits will likely influence the preferences for fruit among the younger generation

Factors affecting intention to purchase edible bird’s nest products: the case of Malaysian consumers

Malaysia is the second largest producer of edible bird’s nest (EBN) in the world, but it has encountered problems when its main export market, China, imposed a ban on EBN products originating from the country. Edible bird’s nest products are products made of the hardened saliva secretions of swiftlet birds. Purchasing intention of edible bird’s nest products is a vital variable in determining customers’ purchasing behavior for these products. This research explores how attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control can influence the buyer’s intention toward purchasing edible bird’s nest products. A total of 1,361 respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire from July to November 2012. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Multiple regression analysis shows that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are statistically significant predictors of consumer intention toward purchasing edible bird’s nest products

The effectiveness of the JAKIM halal logo on Malaysia consumers' confidence in manufacturing food

The introduction of halal logo by the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) has triggered a greater awareness among the Muslim communities about the importance of consuming products or engaging in services that follow Islamic guidelines and principles. In March 2006, the Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that all state governments had been directed to use the standard halal logo issued by JAKIM, thus making the logo the national halal logo of Malaysia. Unfortunately there is a lack of enforcement in monitoring the usage of certified halal logo causing the public to question the validity of some of the products that are claimed to be halal. The objectives of this study are to gather information on consumers’ perception towards the JAKIM halal logo and to assess the level of confidence of the halalness of food products which carry this logo. A sample of 600 Muslim respondents, were interviewed via structured questionnaires to derive their confidence level and purchasing behavior towards food products which come with halal logo. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socioeconomic/ demographic background and the perception of the respondents. Meanwhile the logit model was used to determine the extent to which selected socio-economic/demographic characteristics and perception influenced the respondents’ confidence on halal logo. The results of this study suggest that consumers are very concerned about halal food and halal logo on food products. Many consumers react more positively to JAKIM halal logo, although there is still evidence to support that consumers are more careful in evaluating the halalness of all kinds of food products by referring to the list of ingredients. Nevertheless, most consumers are able to differentiate between JAKIM halal logo from the other logos, regardless of the brands on the food products