Dare, A.A.^*, Iyanda A.B.** and Iyanda O.T.***

*Dept. of Human Kinetics and Health Education,

Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo

**Dept. of Health Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan

***Dept. of Social Works, University of Ibadan, Ibadan

Abstract

Food labels are the first informative tool found by the customers during shopping, and are informative in terms of ingredients, nutrient content, and the presence of allergens of the selected product. Food labels are aimed at giving consumers access to comprehensive information on the nature and composition of food, to assist them in making informed food choices, and safeguard their health. Food labelling knowledge is powerful as it improves understanding and makes the decision process by consumers more precise and dynamic. In addition, consumer understanding of food label information establishes how, and whether, the information on food labels is used when choosing the food product to purchase. Descriptive research design was adopted. Two hundred pre-service teachers were randomly selected. Self- developed questionnaire with reliability co-efficient (r) =.78. Three hypotheses were tested. Using Chi-square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The result revealed that 33.5% of pre-service teachers “sometimes” use food labels when purchasing food, followed by 28% who “rarely” use them, 20% who “often” use them, and 18.5% who “never” use them .The result also shows that there was a significant knowledge of food labelling among the respondents (X²cal=136.280, X²crit=55.759, df=36, p< 0.05). However,, there was no significant positive attitude towards checking food labels (X²cal= 41.200, X²crit= 55.759, df= 36, p > .055). A significant negative relationship was found between knowledge and attitude towards food labelling (r=-.304, p<0.05). The study concluded that there was a good knowledge but negative attitude towards food labelling among pre-service teachers. It was also concluded that a significant relationship exists between knowledge and attitude towards food labelling. The study therefore recommended that there is a need for a multisectorial collaboration between the federal ministries of health, education, youth affairs and the universities authorities and relevant educators to develop a policy for regulating the distribution of unhealthy foods and drinks in the school and the need for standardization of policies in order adapt uniform food labelling requirements to improve clarity and efficiency.