Investigation into sustainability labelling of food and implications for the consumer and the food industry
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF READING
Department Name: Sch of Agriculture Policy and Dev
Abstract
Food quality and safety scares as well as stories of poor practices in food production have had a detrimental impact on consumer trust in the food they eat as well as on the food producers.
Currently the food industry lacks a comprehensive system to accurately measure the effects a food item has on the planet. We are proposing the investigation of a labelling system such as the "front of pack" nutrition wheel. Our hypothesis is that: A comprehensive, front of pack labelling system for food, that conveys environmental sustainability information to the consumer, will lead to an increase in consumer trust in food and willingness to pay. The objectives of the research are:
- To conduct an critical appraisal of existing information systems in Nutrition, Food Safety and Environmental Sustainability to ascertain information on the most pressing topics around sustainability in the food chain; to explore which elements need to be included in our research
- Using a mixed qualitative methods approach including interviews and focus groups, to identify industry & consumer needs, wants, aspirations, barriers etc. to the selected elements such as cost of production, safety assurance, carbon footprint, waste etc to be considered in the system
- To explore knowledge of the characteristics, ease of use and accuracy of existing sustainability/carbon footprint measures of a selected food product for use in a novel front of pack labelling system
- To consider the inspection and certification systems that would need to be implemented to provide such assurances and transparency and to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for food producers
-Conduct co-design workshops with consumers to develop different prototypes of labelling options of the key elements of a front of pack labelling transparent sustainability system
-Evaluate alternative systems with consumers for their perceptions, understanding, trust, intention to buy, wiliness to pay etcusing an online survey
Currently the food industry lacks a comprehensive system to accurately measure the effects a food item has on the planet. We are proposing the investigation of a labelling system such as the "front of pack" nutrition wheel. Our hypothesis is that: A comprehensive, front of pack labelling system for food, that conveys environmental sustainability information to the consumer, will lead to an increase in consumer trust in food and willingness to pay. The objectives of the research are:
- To conduct an critical appraisal of existing information systems in Nutrition, Food Safety and Environmental Sustainability to ascertain information on the most pressing topics around sustainability in the food chain; to explore which elements need to be included in our research
- Using a mixed qualitative methods approach including interviews and focus groups, to identify industry & consumer needs, wants, aspirations, barriers etc. to the selected elements such as cost of production, safety assurance, carbon footprint, waste etc to be considered in the system
- To explore knowledge of the characteristics, ease of use and accuracy of existing sustainability/carbon footprint measures of a selected food product for use in a novel front of pack labelling system
- To consider the inspection and certification systems that would need to be implemented to provide such assurances and transparency and to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for food producers
-Conduct co-design workshops with consumers to develop different prototypes of labelling options of the key elements of a front of pack labelling transparent sustainability system
-Evaluate alternative systems with consumers for their perceptions, understanding, trust, intention to buy, wiliness to pay etcusing an online survey
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/T008776/1 | 30/09/2020 | 29/09/2028 | |||
| 2441241 | Studentship | BB/T008776/1 | 30/09/2020 | 04/10/2024 |