Consumers form perceptions of various food products through their comprehension of the visual stimuli on food packaging that attract their attention. These perceptions directly affect their purchasing decision at the point of purchase, which emphasizes the importance of attention‐capturing packaging attributes. However, little research is available regarding consumers' perceptions of food packaging, especially in the South African context. This study aimed to explore a sample of South African consumers' perceptions of food packaging and how these perceptions were formed through the perceptual process. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted by means of 25 semi‐structured interviews and through the use of ambiguous mock packaging as a projective technique. Participants were questioned regarding their general perceptions of food packaging. The attention‐capturing ability of packaging as well as consumers' interpretation of this packaging after exposure to the mock packaging was also discussed. Findings from the study indicated that participants mainly based their perception of food packaging on its functional (being purposive, recyclable and informative) and physical attributes (being attractive, of high quality and hygienic). This study also indicated that information and visual attributes of packaging are important to gain consumers' attention in‐store. Participants' comprehension of packaging included general associations of specific food products with certain types of packaging, such as associations with quality and shelf life. Negative associations with packaging mostly entailed difficulty to handle the product, poor quality of the product and environmental problems. This study identifies those product attributes that participants regarded as the most important stimuli for forming positive perceptions regarding food packaging. It is important for manufacturers to pay attention to the information on perceptions that was gained in this study, as it might help them to create packaging that better fulfil consumer needs. These findings could also be applied in a larger study of a quantitative nature, which will ultimately result in more positive consumer shopping experiences and consumer satisfaction regarding food packaging.

Objective: To identify the information that adult consumers use on food labels, the difficulties they experience when using food labels and their reasons for not always using food labels. The relationship between their understanding of the information on the food label and their ability to make informed food choices was also investigated by means of their being required to perform labelling tasks. Design: A cross-sectional and descriptive research approach was followed. Data were collected by means of the administration of questionnaires. Setting: Selected supermarkets in Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp in the North West Province, South Africa. Subjects: Questionnaires were administered to 174 consumers of African descent and Caucasians, $18 years of age, who were involved in purchasing household food products. Results: The information that is mostly used on food labels includes the expiry date, the list of ingredients and nutritional information, such as fat and cholesterol content. The difficulties associated with food labels were indicated mainly as being the font size of the print, whereas the reasons for not reading food labels were related to product attributes ('taste and price are more important than is the nutritional content of the food product'), demographic characteristics ('lack of education and nutritional knowledge') and situational factors ('experiencing time constraints'). Conclusions:Results from the present study indicated that the expiry date was the most important information on a food label used by consumers. Scores from the labelling tasks showed that the respondents did not always understand how to use the information on food labels in order to make informed food choices. Barriers to consumer understanding and the use of food labels are highlighted. Improvements on current food labels in South Africa are suggested. Guidelines for consumer education regarding the use of food labels are also provided. Keywords Food label Understanding UseSouth Africa is a country that is characterised by a wide diversity of cultures and a vast range of public health issues. Such health issues are associated with infectious and chronic diseases, rapid urbanisation, lifestyle factors and the adoption of a Western type of diet (1,2) . Furthermore, many South Africans do not know how to choose the right type and quantities of food to satisfy their nutritional requirements (3) . Therefore, there is a need to help South African consumers make better food choices during food purchasing.The food label forms an integral part of the consumers' decision-making processes, as it provides nutritional information that could assist them in making healthy food choices (2,4) . Prior exposure to food labels also limits consumers' information searching and consequently saves them time during food purchase (5) . Previous research has found that consumers tend to read the information that is supplied on food labels without really understanding it, which limits the effective use of food labels (6) . At present, although food...

Yellow-pigmented, Gram-negative organisms isolated from raw chicken were investigated by means of a polyphasic taxonomic approach and were shown to represent a novel species in the genus Chryseobacterium, for which the name Chryseobacterium vrystaatense sp. nov. is proposed. Its nearest phylogenetic neighbours were Chryseobacterium joostei, Chryseobacterium indologenes and Chryseobacterium gleum, which showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity levels of 96·9, 97·1 and 96·1 %, respectively. Levels of DNA–DNA hybridization between strains of C. vrystaatense and Chryseobacterium reference species were below 46 %. Strain LMG 22846T (=CCUG 50970T) was chosen as the type strain and has a DNA G+C content of 37·1 mol%.

Objective: To determine the ability of consumers to: locate and manipulate food label information; assess the accuracy of nutrient content claims and which health/nutrient claims are allowed; and identify symbols on food labels. Associations pertaining to use and knowledge regarding food label information were also determined for consumers from different demographic and related groups. Design: An exploratory descriptive study was undertaken, employing a faceto-face survey focusing on demographic information, shopping behaviour, nutrition is important beliefs, label use, label knowledge and label preference and information sources. Setting: Selected public locations in Potchefstroom in the North West Province of South Africa. Subjects: Respondents (n 229) complying with set inclusion criteria were recruited through purposive sampling. Results: The results indicated respondents' general health and label awareness, as most of them (.80 %) could locate label information and identify symbols and specific nutrient content claims although only 53 % were able to calculate the number of servings. Nevertheless, an inability was found to assess the accuracy of some nutrient content claims and permissible health/nutrient claims. More educated, younger, Afrikaans-and English-speaking respondents seemed to be more knowledgeable regarding food label information. Conclusions: Respondents who were informed about nutrition were also informed about label information, while label reading practices resulted in labelinfluenced purchasing decisions. Educational programmes on food labels should start with nutritional background that could be implemented by consumers during label reading and purchasing decisions.

Four isolates from freshly caught fish samples obtained from the South Atlantic Ocean off the South African coastline were shown to represent a novel species in the genus Chryseobacterium by means of a polyphasic taxonomic study. The four isolates had virtually identical whole-cell protein profiles, fatty acid profiles and biochemical properties. Analysis of the 16S rRNA sequence of strain LMG 23089 T revealed 99?3 and 98?9 % similarity to the 16S rRNA sequences of the type strains of Chryseobacterium balustinum and Chryseobacterium scophthalmum, respectively. Strain LMG 23089 T and the C. balustinum and C. scophthalmum type strains formed a stable lineage supported by a bootstrap value of 100 %. The levels of DNA-DNA hybridization towards these nearest phylogenetic neighbours were below 57 %. The absence of growth on MacConkey agar or at 37 6C (on nutrient agar), the capacity to grow in the presence of 5 % NaCl and the production of urease activity differentiate this novel taxon from C. balustinum and C. scophthalmum. The four isolates are formally classified as Chryseobacterium piscium sp. nov., with strain LMG 23089 T (=CCUG 51923 T ) as the type strain. Its DNA G+C content is 33?6 mol%.