Food-Insecure Household’s Self-Reported Perceptions of Food Labels, Product Attributes and Consumption Behaviours

Abstract

Dietary compromises related to food insecurity profoundly undermine health and constitute a serious public health issue, even in developed nations. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of food labelling and product attributes on the purchasing choices of food-insecure households in Australia. An online survey containing 19 food choice and 28 purchasing behaviours questions was completed by 1056 adults responsible for household grocery shopping. The short form of the US Household Food Security Survey Module was used as the food security indicator. Multinomial logistic regression modelling was employed to analyse the survey data. Respondents were classified as having either high-marginal (63.4%, n = 670), low (19.8%, n = 209) or very low (16.8%, n = 177) food security. Respondents with low or very low food security status were less likely to self-report understanding the information on the back of packaging (p < 0.001), find information on food labels useful (p = 0.002) or be influenced by product nutrition information (p = 0.002). Convenience (p < 0.001), organic (p = 0.027) and supermarket-branded products (p < 0.001) were more likely to be rated as important by food-insecure respondents when compared to their food-secure counterparts. When asked to rate “how healthy” their diet was, high–marginal FS respondents were twice as likely describe their diet as healthy than very low FS respondents (p = 0.001).

Relationship between household food insecurity and food and nutrition literacy among children of 9–12 years of age: a cross-sectional study in a city of Iran

“…The results also suggest that HFI was associated with lower level of food label literacy. Consistent with our observation Butcher et al found Australian households with low or very low HFI status less tend to find, use or be influenced by nutrition information on food labels when making dietary decisions [14]. Similarly, Gittelsohn et al reported the lowest food label reading and food knowledge scores among food-insecure households in Baltimore City in the USA [16].…”

“…Findings from some recent studies have shown that in comparison to the food-secure households, those with food insecurity had lower FNLIT mainly characterized by unfavorable food choices and purchasing decisions as well as poor food preparation skills [13][14][15][16]. However, this evidence was limited to the adult population living in high-income and developed countries; thus, it is unknown whether these findings are generalizable to the children and adolescents particularly in the low-income and developing nations.…”

Relationship between Household Food Insecurity and Food and Nutrition Literacy among Children of 9-12 years of age: a cross-sectional study in a city of Iran

“…The results also suggest that HFI was associated with lower level of food label literacy. Consistent with our observation Butcher et al found Australian households with low or very low HFI status less tend to nd, use or be in uenced by nutrition information on food labels when making dietary decisions (14). Similarly, Gittelsohn et al reported the lowest food label reading and food knowledge scores among foodinsecure households in Baltimore City in the USA (16).…”

“…Findings from some recent studies have shown that in comparison to the food-secure households, those with food insecurity had lower FNLIT mainly characterized by unfavorable food choices and purchasing decisions as well as poor food preparation skills (13)(14)(15)(16). However, this evidence was limited to the adult population living in high-income and developed countries; thus, it is unknown whether these ndings are generalizable to the children and adolescents particularly in the low-income and developing nations.…”

The study protocol for a pseudo-randomised pre-post designed controlled intervention trial to study the effects of a 7-week cooking program on self-efficacy and biomarkers of health: the ECU lifestyle and biomarkers get connected study (ECULABJMOF) including the Jamie’s Ministry of Food WA participant experience

“…Social determinants of health such as socio-economic status and household income are associated with food purchasing decisions and dietary intake, whereby households of lower income and those in rural and remote areas often have poor diet quality and greater risk of disease [20][21][22]. Barriers such as the price of fresh produce and lack of cooking skills can influence purchasing behaviours for healthier foods, especially among lower socio-economic families and those who are food insecure [23][24][25]. Therefore providing individuals, families and communities with food literacy and access to information to develop budgeting skills, efficient food shopping strategies, and skills to prepare healthy meals at low cost, may overcome economic barriers that presently prevent healthy eating [26,27].…”