Food labeling: For Consumers and Producers
Food labeling is a legal requirement in many countries of the world. In Nigeria, registered food manufacturing companies are required to label their food products. Large scale food manufacturing companies abide by this requirement to a large extent.
Asides large scale food manufacturers, we also have SMEs who are doing a great job to keep the food value chain running. As a food SME you can stand out from the crowd by including labels on your packaged food. Don't assume that consumers do not read them or need them. They do, we do. Moreover, we're also encouraging those who haven't cultivated the culture of reading food labels to start doing so.
Consumers reserve the right to know the ingredients that makeup the food they're buying, the nutritional composition, quantity, mode of preparation, storage condition and the production batch details of the food. What better way to communicate these details than through a label at a glance.
- When a food label bears a list of all the ingredients on it, consumers are better informed thus making better choices as regards health concerns or allergies. If any ingredient is not declared, due to trade secret reasons, consumers need to also know that there is an undeclared ingredient.
- When the nutritional composition of food is listed on the label, consumers are better informed on the possibility of the food to meet their nutritional requirements at any given time.
- Storage condition goes a long way to determine the shelf stability of food, why not help consumers store your product properly by telling them how best to preserve it? Most consumer complaint of deteriorated product in trade is as a result of improper storage.
- The production batch details containing the production date, best before, batch number helps the consumer know if the food is still okay for consumption. Moreover, it also helps you, the manufacturer, for traceability when the need arises.
Food safety is everyone's business!
About the Author
Chidinma is a certified Food Technologist, a quality assurance professional with over 3 years' experience. She is a professional member of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST).
Reach her on LinkedIn, here.
