Indian consumers’ attitude and use of food label information: Mediating role of food quality perception

With the integration of global food markets, consumers are exposed to increased food choices. In order to make a smart food choice, they seek proper information about the food that they consume. The easiest, reliable and most inexpensive source for this information is through the food labels on food packages. But not all consumers are making the use of this information due to paucity of time, lack of understanding of technical information, presentation of nutritional information and also that confidence in the validity of the information provided. Thus, it has been recorded that consumers’ attitude towards food labels acts as a key driver in their making use of this information. Thus, regulatory bodies need to understand what affects the usage pattern of the consumers. The present study aims to understand the impact of consumers’ attitude towards food label information on their use of this information in presence of their perception of food quality as a mediator. A primary study was conducted in Rajasthan and mediation analysis was conducted using SMART-PLS 3.0 software. The study indicates a positive and significant impact of consumers’ attitude on the use of food labels and that perception acts as partial mediator between attitude and use.