Research: Understanding shelf life labels and dates on pre-packed food products by Belgian consumers

Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium collected information on Belgian consumers regarding their understanding and attitude towards shelf life labels. 80.1% of the respondents were familiar with the terminology of the label ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ while 69.6% indicated to know the difference between the meaning of the two labels. Judging edibility of food products at home occurs mainly by a combination of checking visually and smelling (82.5%), looking at the shelf life date (67.5%) or tasting (50.4%). About half of the consumers is aware of and appreciates the difference between the two labels during this judgment. An article about the research is published in Food Control.
Click here for an abstract of the article.

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