International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research
Abbreviation: IJIAAR | ISSN (Online): 2602-4772 | DOI: 10.29329/ijiaar

Original article    |    Open Access
International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research 2021, Vol. 5(4) 405-423

Consumer Behaviour toward Food Labels and its Implication on Food Waste during COVID-19 Crisis in Tunisia

Sarra Jrıbı, Hanen Ben Ismaıl, Derine Dogui & Hajer Debbabi

pp. 405 - 423   |  DOI: https://doi.org/10.29329/ijiaar.2021.415.6

Published online: December 31, 2021  |   Number of Views: 140  |  Number of Download: 642

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Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak affected the whole world at different scales: politically, economically, and socially, including compromising food security. All over the world people experienced significant changes contributing to different reactions and attitudes: fear, anxiety, depression... Therefore, this pandemic has altered their behaviour. This research aimed to evaluate to which extent crisis situation, like COVID-19 pandemic, would affect consumers interest to food labels, and the consequences on food waste. An online survey of 295 Tunisian consumers was conducted three months after COVID-19 lockdown. The survey collected information on demographic data, extent of household food waste, use and knowledge of food labelling information and food waste assessment. The pandemic situation enhanced consumers’ interests to labels, as 61% of respondents stated to pay great attention to labels and to always check them. Elderly and university educated respondents are the most sensitive people to labels, in a COVID-19 context. Regarding understanding food labels, particularly date labels, Tunisian consumers still have some ambiguity as 33% could not provide correct answers about date labels definitions, which may lead to food spoilage and misuse. Interestingly, most of respondents declared to waste a low amount of food on post Covid-19 period. Their judgment in discarding a food product was based mostly on food storage considerations than on the use of date labels. These findings indicate the need of more effective communication about food labels, particularly date labels, in order to contribute in reducing household food waste, and potentially improving food security.

Keywords: Covid-19, Consumer behaviour , Food waste, Food label, Survey

How to Cite this Article

APA 6th edition
Jribi, S., Ismail, H.B., Dogui, D. & Debbabi, H. (2021). Consumer Behaviour toward Food Labels and its Implication on Food Waste during COVID-19 Crisis in Tunisia . International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research, 5(4), 405-423. doi: 10.29329/ijiaar.2021.415.6

Harvard
Jribi, S., Ismail, H., Dogui, D. and Debbabi, H. (2021). Consumer Behaviour toward Food Labels and its Implication on Food Waste during COVID-19 Crisis in Tunisia . International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research, 5(4), pp. 405-423.

Chicago 16th edition
Jribi, Sarra, Hanen Ben Ismail, Derine Dogui and Hajer Debbabi (2021). "Consumer Behaviour toward Food Labels and its Implication on Food Waste during COVID-19 Crisis in Tunisia ". International Journal of Innovative Approaches in Agricultural Research 5 (4):405-423. doi:10.29329/ijiaar.2021.415.6.
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