Consumers and nutrition labelling 149 6.2.8 General requirements It is important that nutrition information is correct. Not only is it a legal require ment that any labelling information must be accurate and not misleading, but peri- odically consumer organisations run checks on the values given for the various nutrients and publicise embarrassing inaccuracies. The manufacturer also has an obligation to ensure that the label is understandable in the market(s) in which the product is sold. However, this requirement has not yet been extended to ensure that the consumer understands the nutrition information per se, only the language in which it is provided. Regrettably, it cannot be assumed that consumers through out the eu understand the nutrition information if given in the language of the country of manufacture even though it is set out in a recognised format and order of nutrients. On the other hand, consumers may well express interest in the nutri tional attributes of the product, whether or not nutrition information is provided Many manufacturers and retailers produce leaflets to help explai labelling and how it can help them to choose a balanced diet, or refer their cus tomers to some of the tions and resources referred to in section 6.7 6.3 Consumer expectations and understanding of nutrition labelling Of the many factors governing food choice, of which price is likely to be quite high on most people's lists, nutrition information may not figure strongly for many. But the enormous number and variety of food products available on the market today including imports of exotic foods and ingredients from all over the world, resulting from the increasing interest in ethnic dishes generated by long haul travel and TV cooks, not to mention new ranges of products inspired by these developments, means that the consumer needs ever greater knowledge and information to allow him or her to choose from this vast range. At point of pur- chase it is the food label that provides the information that will enable the con- sumer to make the choice between products. If diet and health are important to the consumer, the provision of nutrition information on the pack may be a decid- ing factor between purchasing the product and leaving it on the shelf or a more careful study of the nutrition panel later in the home may influence a repeat purchase A further influence on the provision(or not) of nutrition information may be the intermediate customer, namely the retailer, rather than the end consumer. The najor UK supermarket chains exert an enormous influence on the highly com petitive retail market for food and therefore on food production. All major retail ers stock a wide range of own label products, manufactured to their own specification by a variety of food manufacturers. The specification will cover not only the composition of the product but also the details of the food label. This will almost certainly include 'full nutrition labelling, i.e. theBig 4 and ' Little 4 nutrients( see section 6.2. 1)and possibly additional, supplementary voluntary information. which is discussed in detail in sections 6.5 and 66. Most retailers6.2.8 General requirements It is important that nutrition information is correct. Not only is it a legal require￾ment that any labelling information must be accurate and not misleading, but peri￾odically consumer organisations run checks on the values given for the various nutrients and publicise embarrassing inaccuracies. The manufacturer also has an obligation to ensure that the label is understandable in the market(s) in which the product is sold. However, this requirement has not yet been extended to ensure that the consumer understands the nutrition information per se, only the language in which it is provided. Regrettably, it cannot be assumed that consumers through￾out the EU understand the nutrition information if given in the language of the country of manufacture even though it is set out in a recognised format and order of nutrients. On the other hand, consumers may well express interest in the nutri￾tional attributes of the product, whether or not nutrition information is provided. Many manufacturers and retailers produce leaflets to help explain nutrition labelling and how it can help them to choose a balanced diet, or refer their cus￾tomers to some of the organisations and resources referred to in section 6.7. 6.3 Consumer expectations and understanding of nutrition labelling Of the many factors governing food choice, of which price is likely to be quite high on most people’s lists, nutrition information may not figure strongly for many. But the enormous number and variety of food products available on the market today including imports of exotic foods and ingredients from all over the world, resulting from the increasing interest in ethnic dishes generated by long￾haul travel and TV cooks, not to mention new ranges of products inspired by these developments, means that the consumer needs ever greater knowledge and information to allow him or her to choose from this vast range. At point of pur￾chase it is the food label that provides the information that will enable the con￾sumer to make the choice between products. If diet and health are important to the consumer, the provision of nutrition information on the pack may be a decid￾ing factor between purchasing the product and leaving it on the shelf or a more careful study of the nutrition panel later in the home may influence a repeat purchase. A further influence on the provision (or not) of nutrition information may be the intermediate customer, namely the retailer, rather than the end consumer. The major UK supermarket chains exert an enormous influence on the highly com￾petitive retail market for food and therefore on food production. All major retail￾ers stock a wide range of ‘own label’ products, manufactured to their own specification by a variety of food manufacturers. The specification will cover not only the composition of the product but also the details of the food label. This will almost certainly include ‘full’ nutrition labelling, i.e. the ‘Big 4’ and ‘Little 4’ nutrients (see section 6.2.1) and possibly additional, supplementary voluntary information, which is discussed in detail in sections 6.5 and 6.6. Most retailers Consumers and nutrition labelling 149