Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective

Objective: Examining factors influencing food label use among Singapore's supermarket shoppers using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Design: A point-of-purchase survey among general shoppers in 2 supermarkets. Setting: Singapore, a country whose population is exposed to a wide range of food l...

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Main Authors: Lwin, May Oo, Vijaykumar, Santosh, Chao, Jiang, Au, Cyndy
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2013
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/95810
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/10054
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-958102020-03-07T12:10:42Z Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective Lwin, May Oo Vijaykumar, Santosh Chao, Jiang Au, Cyndy Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Food processing and manufacture Objective: Examining factors influencing food label use among Singapore's supermarket shoppers using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Design: A point-of-purchase survey among general shoppers in 2 supermarkets. Setting: Singapore, a country whose population is exposed to a wide range of food labeling formats because of the import-dependent nature of the food industry. Participants: A total of 200 shoppers (Chinese [75.5%], Malays [8.5%], and Indians [7.0%]) participated in the survey. Main Outcome Measures: Independent variables composed of attitudes and subjective norms (both 5-point Likert); perceived behavioral control and diet-health concern (both 5-point semantic differential); and knowledge (18-item index). Dependent variables were intention to use food labels (5-point differential scale) and actual use of food labels (19-item index). Analysis: Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean analysis, and multivariate linear regression. Results: Low levels of knowledge and health literacy were found. Attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control differed significantly by age and ethnicity. Subjective norms and diet-health concern were significant predictors of intention to use food labels. Conclusions and Implications: Lack of knowledge but positive attitudes toward food labels make Singapore's consumers vulnerable to misusing or being misled by food label information. Demographic differences demonstrate the need to develop targeted educational interventions and enhance awareness of and ability to use food labels. Accepted Version 2013-06-04T07:25:41Z 2019-12-06T19:21:56Z 2013-06-04T07:25:41Z 2019-12-06T19:21:56Z 2013 2013 Journal Article Vijaykumar, S., Lwin, M. O., Chao J., & Au, C. (2013). Determinants of Food Label Use among Supermarket Shoppers: A Singaporean Perspective. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 45(3), 204-212 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/95810 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/10054 10.1016/j.jneb.2012.09.001 173103 en Journal of nutrition education and behavior © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by Journal of nutrition education and behaviour, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2012.09.001]. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Food processing and manufacture
spellingShingle DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Food processing and manufacture
Lwin, May Oo
Vijaykumar, Santosh
Chao, Jiang
Au, Cyndy
Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective
description Objective: Examining factors influencing food label use among Singapore's supermarket shoppers using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Design: A point-of-purchase survey among general shoppers in 2 supermarkets. Setting: Singapore, a country whose population is exposed to a wide range of food labeling formats because of the import-dependent nature of the food industry. Participants: A total of 200 shoppers (Chinese [75.5%], Malays [8.5%], and Indians [7.0%]) participated in the survey. Main Outcome Measures: Independent variables composed of attitudes and subjective norms (both 5-point Likert); perceived behavioral control and diet-health concern (both 5-point semantic differential); and knowledge (18-item index). Dependent variables were intention to use food labels (5-point differential scale) and actual use of food labels (19-item index). Analysis: Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean analysis, and multivariate linear regression. Results: Low levels of knowledge and health literacy were found. Attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control differed significantly by age and ethnicity. Subjective norms and diet-health concern were significant predictors of intention to use food labels. Conclusions and Implications: Lack of knowledge but positive attitudes toward food labels make Singapore's consumers vulnerable to misusing or being misled by food label information. Demographic differences demonstrate the need to develop targeted educational interventions and enhance awareness of and ability to use food labels.
author2 Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
author_facet Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Lwin, May Oo
Vijaykumar, Santosh
Chao, Jiang
Au, Cyndy
format Article
author Lwin, May Oo
Vijaykumar, Santosh
Chao, Jiang
Au, Cyndy
author_sort Lwin, May Oo
title Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective
title_short Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective
title_full Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective
title_fullStr Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective
title_full_unstemmed Determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a Singaporean perspective
title_sort determinants of food label use among supermarket shoppers : a singaporean perspective
publishDate 2013
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/95810
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/10054
_version_ 1681047322956398592