Consumer Awareness of Nutrition Labelling in Restaurants according to Level of Health Consciousness

This study was performed to investigate the level and recognition and interest in nutrition labeling in restaurants according to consumer interest levels in health and to suggest its application to restaurant lunches. By considering various statistics and data on the frequency of reasons for dining-out, this study examined worker restaurant lunches and investigated the level of recognition of interest in nutrition labeling, the type of nutrition information that is of interest and the preferred format of labeling according to the level of interest in health. According to the results, while the frequency of dining-out by workers was high, their consideration for health and nutrition labeling in restaurants was low. However, a high percentage of consumers responded that nutrition labeling was a customer right and necessary to improve the quality of menu items as well as public health. Therefore, active promotion of nutrition labeling in the dining industry is necessary. Interest levels in additives, product origin and menu ingredients indicated in restaurant menus were higher than for nutritional information such as nutrients and calories. When the preferred format for providing nutrition information was investigated, consumers preferred information written on a menu board, and they wanted to broaden the range of information included in nutrition labeling for menu items beyond calories and nutritional facts. Based on these results, recognition of nutrition labeling in restaurants was found to below and the interest level in health was also lower than expected. However, most consumers responded that nutrition labeling was helpful in choosing menu items can be a tool for nutrition education and can play a role in improving the recognition of nutrition. Therefore, active promotion of nutrition labeling by the dining industry is necessary.