Investigation into sustainability labelling of food and implications for the consumer and the food industry

Food quality and safety scares as well asstories of poor practices in food production havehad a detrimental impact on consumer trust in the food they eat as well as on the food producers. Studies have shown that transparency of food chain information via tools such as QR codes on food packaging is one way of increasing trust and willingness to pay more for food with such assurances (Spence et al., 2018). With increasing pressure on agricultural land andlabour along with growing concerns relating to the impact of farming and the food sector on water, soil and air quality; the key challenge remains the production of sufficient, good quality food in a sustainable manner. Therefore,a system that can communicate sustainability information to the consumer in a succinct manner is needed. Currently the food industry lacks a comprehensive system to accurately measure the effects a food item has on the planet. Though some metrics do exist, they typically focus on a singular element, such as carbon emissions. However the impact is much wider and should include water use, land use, nitrogen released, energy for cultivation, process, package and transport foods, as well as emissions and materials associated with packaging and food lost in production. The multifactorial measurements require many metrics to capture the various contributions and to translate this into a system the consumer would understand. Major progress is being made by researchers to develop robust metrics around a suite of key sustainability indicators and to develop a 'lifecycle analysis' approach that considers all upstream and downstream processes. We are proposing the investigation of a labelling system such as the "front of pack" nutrition wheel. This could offer an opportunity for transparent information relating to sustainability indicators to be displayed on food packaging to aid communication with the consumer. The development and implementation of a front of pack labelling systemthat conveys transparent metrics relating to sustainable food production will be a demonstration of a culture change and action planning in respect to transparency in food systems, a powerful symbol of lasting change in the relationship between food industry, consumers and society. 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.T he objectives of the research are:
- To conduct a critical appraisa lof existing information systems in Nutrition, Food SafetyandEnvironmentalSustainability 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 fo otprint 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