Food Date Labelling and the Consumer Knowledge
Abstract
The safety and quality aspects of food produced and sold to Malaysian consumers are governed by myriad legislation. At the forefront are Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985. The regulations fortify food safety and quality assurance by mandating food date labelling. Food date labelling, part of consumer empowerment strategies, enables buyers to decide whether to purchase or when to consume the purchased food. While food date labelling is lauded as a proven legal strategy to overcome information asymmetry, international literature identifies food date labelling as the leading cause of edible food waste. Lack of knowledge, misunderstanding and confusion on the meanings of 'expired by', 'use by', 'consume by' and 'best before' labels on food packaging has prompted consumers to dispose of food that is still edible and fit for consumption. Malaysia is not spared from the global food waste phenomenon as it was reported that 3,000 tonnes of edible food, enough to feed 10 million people, are discarded each day either at the point of sale or point of consumption. This paper aims to investigate consumer knowledge of food date labelling in Malaysia. An online nationwide survey using a convenience sampling technique was conducted in April 2021. A survey questionnaire that gauges consumer knowledge of food date labelling was constructed for the study. A total of 460 respondents representing B40, M40 and T20 households participated in the survey. The survey findings indicate that Malaysian consumers’ low knowledge of the meaning of the date formats marked on food packaging may lead to edible food waste.
References
Ahmad Kushairi. 2018. Food for thought. News Strait Times. https://www.nst.com.my/opinions/columnist/2018/08/404704/food-thought
Ambak, R., Tupang, L., Hasim, M. H., Salleh, N. C, Zulkafly, N., Salleh, R., Ahmad, M. H. and Naidu, B. M. 2018. Who do not read and understand food label in Malaysia? Findings from a population study. Health Science Journal, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.21767/1791-809x.1000548
Aschemann-Witzel, J., De Hooge, I., Amani, P., Bech-Larsen, T., & Oostindjer, M. 2015. Consumer-related food waste: Causes and potential for action. Sustainability, 7(6), 6457-6477. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7066457
Beatty. 2018. Label date marks: Quality or food safety? https://extension.psu.edu/label
Chu, W., Williams, H., Verghese, K., Wever, R., and Glad, W. 2020. Tensions and opportunities: An activity theory perspective on date and storage label design through a literature review and Co-creation sessions. Sustainability, 12(3), 1162. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031162
European Commission. 2018. Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention.
European Union. (2018). E.U. Action to promote better understanding and use of date marking. https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food-waste/eu-actions-against-food-waste/eu-platform-food-losses-and-food-waste_en
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2016. Handbook on food labelling to protect consumers.
Kavanaugh, M., and Quinlan, J. J. 2020. Consumer knowledge and behaviors regarding food date labels and food waste. Food Control, 115, 107285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107285
Kranert, M., et al. 2012. Determination of discarded food and proposals for minimization of food wastage in germany. Federal German Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
Milne, R. 2012. Arbiters of waste: Date labels, the consumer and knowing good, safe food. The Sociological Review, 60(2_suppl), 84- 101. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467- 954x.12039
Muhammad Iqram bin Zulkupri, Anida Mahmood, Zinatul Ashiqin Zainol & Nor Akhmal Hasmin. 2022. Consumer related theories and the right to informed choice for consumer in nano food consumption. UUM Journal of Legal Studies, 13(1), 199–220.
Neff, R. A., Spiker, M., Rice, C., Schklair, A., Greenberg, S., and Leib, E. B. 2019. Misunderstood food date labels and reported food discards: A survey of U.S. consumer attitudes and behaviors. Waste Management, 86, 123-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.01.023
Nur Imani Abdullah. 2016. Impact of food wastage. The Star. https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2016/05/26/impact-of-food-wastage/
Nwadike. 2016. How do food manufacturers pick those dates on their product packaging – and what do they mean? A.P. News. https://apnews.com/article/e459706c58ff43ec8fc06538a486d5e6
Patra, D., Leisnham, P. T., Tanui, C. K., and Pradhan, A. K. 2020. Evaluation of global research trends in the area of food waste due to date labeling using a scientometrics approach. Food Control, 115, 107307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107307
Sangeetha, G, S., Vijayalakshmi, M, S., & Huang, L. 2019. Role of smart sensors in minimizing food deficit by prediction of shelf-life in agricultural supply chain. In Principles of Internet of things (IoT) ecosystem: Insight paradigm (pp. 153-175). Springer Nature.
Sundaram, J.K, Gen, T.Z., & Jarud, R.K. 2019. Achieving food security for all malaysians. Khazanah Research Institute.
Tajurahim, N. N., Abu Bakar, E., Md Jusoh, Z., Ahmad, S., and Muhammad Arif, A. M. 2020. The effect of intensity of consumer education, self‐efficacy, personality traits and social media on consumer empowerment. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 44(6), 511-520. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12585
TNS European Behaviour Studies Consortium. 2014. Study on the impact of food information on consumers’ decision making (final report).
Toma, L., Costa Font, M., and Thompson, B. 2017. Impact of consumers’ understanding of date labelling on food waste behaviour. Operational Research, 20(2), 543-560. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-017-0352-3
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. 2019. How to cut food waste and maintain food safety. https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/how-cut-food-waste-and-maintain-food-safety
Vittuari, M., Azzurro, P., Gaiani, S., Gheoldus, M., Burgos, S., Aramyan, L., Valeeva, N., Rogers, D., Östergren, K., Timmermans, T., and Bos-Brouwers, H. 2016. Recommendations and guidelines for a common European food waste policy framework. FUSIONS. https://doi.org/10.18174/392296
Waste and Resources Action Programme. (2017). Labeling guidance: Best practice on food date labelling and storage advice. https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food- drink/actions/date- labelling
Wilson, N. L., Miao, R., & Weis, C. 2018. Seeing is not believing: Perceptions of date labels over food and attributes. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 24(5), 611-631. https://doi.org/10.1080/10454446.2018.1472700
Zielińska, D., Bilska, B., Marciniak-Łukasiak, K., Łepecka, A., Trząskowska, M., Neffe- Skocińska, K., Tomaszewska, M., Szydłowska, A., & Kołożyn-Krajewska, D. 2020. Consumer understanding of the date of minimum durability of food in association with quality evaluation of food products after expiration. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1632. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051632
LICENSE OF PUBLISHING RIGHTS
I hereby grant to the Journal exclusive publishing and distribution license in the manuscript identified above and any tables, illustrations or other material submitted for publication as part of the manuscript (the “Article”) in print, electronic and all other media (whether now known or later developed), in any form, in all languages, throughout the world, for the full term of copyright, and the right to license others to do the same, effective when the article is accepted for publication. This license includes the right to enforce the rights granted hereunder against third parties. Supplemental Materials With respect to Supplemental Materials that I wish to make accessible through a link in the Article or on a site or through a service of the Journal, the Journal shall be entitled to publish, post, reformat, index, archive, make available and link to such Supplemental Materials on a non-exclusive basis in all forms and media (whether now known or later developed), and permit others to do so. “Supplemental Materials” shall mean additional materials that are not an intrinsic part of the Article, including but not limited to experimental data, e-components, encodings and software, and enhanced graphical, illustrative, video and audio material.
SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATIONS RIGHTS
I understand that I retain the copyright in the Article and that no rights in patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights are transferred to the Journal. As the author of the article, I understand that I shall have: (i) the same rights to reuse the Article as those allowed to third party users of the Article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license, as well as (ii) the right to use the Article in a subsequent compilation of my works or to extend the Article to book-length form, to include the article in a thesis or dissertation, or otherwise to use or re-use portions or excerpts in other work, for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. Except for such uses, I understand that the license of publishing rights I have granted to the Journal gives the Journal the exclusive right to make or sub-license commercial use.
USER RIGHTS
The publisher will apply the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC-ND) to the Article where it publishes the Article in the journal on its online platforms on an Open Access basis. For further information, see http://www.elsevier.com/about/open-access/open-access-options. The CC-BY-NC-ND license allows users to copy and distribute the Article, provided this is not done for commercial purposes and further does not permit distribution of the Article if it is changed or edited in any way, and provided the user gives appropriate credit (with a link to the formal publication through the relevant DOI), provides a link to the license, and that the licensor is not represented as endorsing the use made of the work.
The full details of the license are available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
REVERSION RIGHTS
Articles may sometimes be accepted for publication but later rejected in the publication process, even in some cases after public posting in “Articles in Press” form, in which case all rights will revert to the author (see http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).
REVISIONS AND ADDENDA
I understand that no revisions, additional terms or addenda to this License Agreement can be accepted without the Journal’s express written consent.
I understand that this License Agreement supersedes any previous agreements I have entered into with the Journal in relation to the Article from the date hereof.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
The publisher shall publish and distribute the Article with the appropriate copyright notice.
AUTHOR REPRESENTATIONS/ETHICS AND DISCLOSURE
I affirm the Author Representations noted below and confirm that I have reviewed and complied with the relevant Instructions to Authors, Ethics in Publishing policy, Declarations of Interest disclosure and information for authors from countries affected by sanctions (Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Burma, Syria, or Crimea). Please note that some journals may require that all co-authors sign and submit Declarations of Interest disclosure forms. I am also aware of the publisher’s policies with respect to retractions and withdrawal.
Author Representations
1. The Article I have submitted to the journal for review is original, has been written by the stated authors and has not been previously published.
2. The Article was not submitted for review to another journal while under review by this journal and will not be submitted to any other journal.
3. The Article and the Supplemental Materials do not infringe any copyright, violate any other intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any person or entity, or contain any libellous or other unlawful matter.
4. I have obtained written permission from copyright owners for any excerpts from copyrighted works that are included and have credited the sources in the Article or the Supplemental Materials.
5. Except as expressly set out in this License Agreement, the Article is not subject to any prior rights or licenses and, if my or any of my coauthors’ institution has a policy that might restrict my ability to grant the rights required by this License Agreement (taking into account the Scholarly communication rights permitted hereunder), a written waiver of that policy has been obtained.
6. If I and/or any of my co-authors reside in Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Burma, Syria, or Crimea, the Article has been prepared in a personal, academic or research capacity and not as an official representative or otherwise on behalf of the relevant government.
7. If I am using any personal details or images of patients, research subjects or other individuals, I have obtained all consents required by applicable law and complied with the publisher’s policies relating to the use of such images or personal information.
8. Any software contained in the Supplemental Materials is free from viruses, contaminants or worms.
9. If the Article or any of the Supplemental Materials were prepared jointly with other authors, I have informed the co-author(s) of the terms of this License Agreement and that I am signing on their behalf as their agent, and I am authorized to do so.
Copyright © UiTM Cawangan Perlis
