Chapter 39 - Consumer Information and Labeling

• Published in: Food Safety Management pp. 1005 - 1016
• Main Authors: Peterman, Marjana, Žontar, Tanja Pajk
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 2014
• Subjects: consumer; consumer rights; consumers’ information; food chain; safe food; food chain; consumer rights; safe food; consumer; consumers’ information
• ISBN: 9780123815040; 0123815053; 9780123815057; 0123815045
• DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-381504-0.00039-1

The consumer is an individual who is offered, buys or uses goods and services, whether publicly or privately supplied, for personal or family use. Consumers have their interests and rights protected.
Around the world consumers choose food for different reasons and are may be influenced by education, information and advice.
Governments should take into account the needs of all consumers for food safety, and should support and adopt standards from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, Codex Alimentarius or, in their absence, other generally accepted international food standards. Governments and their agencies need to have education and health policies that include formal education of consumers on food and promotion of safe handling of foods and principles of hygiene. Consumer protection policies should also recognize and support the work of consumer NGOs (non-governmental organizations) as information and education providers.
All enterprises comprising the food chain, generally from field to fork or from stable to table, should conform to the relevant laws and regulations of the countries in which they do business and take appropriate provisions of international standards for consumer protection to which the competent authorities of the country in question have agreed, as per United Nations Guidelines.