Awareness of nutritional information and trans-fat in food label among teaching staff of ambo university, ambo, Ethiopia

It is essential for consumers to know about the nutrition information because it can help them to choose healthier food and to avoid contents or ingredients that they are allergic to. It is important that consumers have basic nutrition knowledge first, before appreciating nutrition labelling. The utilisation of food labels and nutrition information on food packages by consumers has been the focus of a number of recent studies. Scientific reports link trans-fats with raising blood LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, which increase the risk of coronary heart disease. To date few studies have explored consumers’ perception of trans-fat following the recent government policies and media influences regarding trans-fat labelling and guidelines. The study was conducted among the teaching staff of Ambo University, Ambo, Ethiopia. In order to give equal chance for all staff being included in the sample, the different colleges in the University are considered as different strata and proportionate random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. In this study, the response rate was 38% i.e. 81 respondents gave their response. From the study it was found that taste and habit were the two major factors that motivated the respondents to choose the foods. The awareness of food label and nutrient information was more. Even though the awareness of nutrient information was high, the utilization of nutrient information on shopping was comparatively low. The awareness of trans-fat among the respondent was very low. Therefore, the government should formulate action plans to create awareness of trans-fat among the people.