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 practice 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 Engineering) 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.