Abstract
BACKGROUND: Considering the significant role of consumers' awareness about food labels in making healthy food choices, this study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitude and prac¬tice of university students about food labeling. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 332 students aged 18-25 yr in five different academic majors (including Nutrition, Public Health, Health Services Administration, Paramedical and En¬gineering) were asked to complete an approved questionnaire contained fifteen questions. The chi-square test was applied to examine the differences across various major groups. RESULTS: 89.2% of the students believed that food labels had effect on nutritional awareness. 77.4% were agreed with the usefulness of the food labels and 79.2% did not feel that nutrition claims on food label were truthful. For 84% of students, the expiry date and storage conditions information were the most important informational cues to appear on the food labels. From 47.6% of students who reported the use of nutrition facts label in their often or always shopping; only 32.3% used the information on labels to fit the food into their daily diet. Surprisingly, fatty acids were the least noteworthy items (1.9%) on nutrition facts labels. Regarding students' major, there was significant difference in their knowledge, attitude and practice about truth of the nutri¬tion claims, using food labels and importance of health claims (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Food labels were more useful tools for students and had an effect on their nutri-tional awareness. Designing and implementation of the educational programs in order to increase the level of knowledge about food labels is suggested.