Food Labeling - Knowledge among university students in the Lisbon region: an exploratory study

Food labeling is important for consumers to have access to accurate nutritional information and to guide them in choosing healthier foods, but its correct understanding and use by consumers is equally important. This study aims to assess higher education students' knowledge of labeling and relate it to demographic factors. This is an exploratory observational study whose data collection was carried out through an online questionnaire, in the period between November and December 2022. In this study, 124 higher education students participated, mostly female (74.2%), living in the Lisbon metropolitan area (97.9%), who did not practice physical exercise/sport (98.4%), and who had no type of food allergy or disease (84.7%). The mean age of the participants was 20.1 ± 1.9 years old. The mean score for knowledge about food labeling was 5 ± 1.8, with a maximum of 8 points. No relationship was found between knowledge about labeling with demographic characteristics. However, the results point to the need to increase knowledge about food labeling, as well as about the interpretation of nutritional information.