The system of date labelling in the food supply chain – the weak links from the perspective of final consumers

Abstract

. Background: Open date labelling influences the role that final consumers play as actors in the food supply chain in waste prevention and reduction. The aim of this study was to examine the date labelling system from the perspectives of consumers’ experience taking into consideration both technical aspects of date labels readability as well as their understanding of the concept of the shelf-life dates. Methods: The face to face interview method (n=1145) was applied with the use of the interview questionnaire. Research was conducted in Poland. Results: Despite declared interest in date labelling, consumers of food products experience difficulties with the system in force. Identified problems cover the physical layer of food packaging such as the font size, the presence of information, its readability and accessibility, and the occurrence of two date types on the basis of food quality and safety concept. Problems with correct interpretation of ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates were more often observed in the group of youths and with vocational education. The difficulties with too small font of the date information were more often claimed by the elderly food buyers. Conclusions: Actions for improvement should be undertaken by FBO’s, legislators and educators in order to achieve economic, environmental and social benefits from clear and consumer-friendly date labelling system. The actions should be matched to a given population group because different sub-groups face separate problems with the dates on food packaging.