Consumers’ Perception on Food Safety, Labels and Purchasing Decisions in Mafikeng

Food safety is an important issue in the whole processes of food utilization and appropriate labelling is very fundamental in guiding consumers' decisions. This research was carried out to determine perception of consumers on usefulness of food labels, analyse the factors influencing their perception and determine the factors influencing utilization food labels in their food purchasing decisions. The respondents were randomly sampled and interviewed with structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression and Probit regression model. Majority of the respondents (56%) were older than 23 years and female (65%). Also, many of the respondents were checking for labels on vegetable oil (54%), eggs (48%), milk (56%) and bread (70%). Majority of the respondents were interested in the expiry dates of vegetable oil (66%), eggs (83%), milk (85%) and bread (86%). Time constraint (32%) and uncertainty about the accuracy of the information (33%) were highlighted as constraints to food label utilization. Perception of importance of food labels was influenced significantly (p<0.01) by label desirability for bread and income. Also, utilization of food labels during food purchases was influenced by being married and household income. It was concluded that consumers were aware of food labels and some efforts were being put into utilization of those labels in their food purchase decisions. .Efforts to promote food safety through utilization of labels should be directed at poor households and those consumers that have not married.