Pilot study about the use of mobile apps as nutritional information for the food consumer
Abstract
Introduction: The food label helps the consumer to decide the products purchased and their eating habits. Applications for mobile devices that allow the scan of a product label are tools increasingly used by the population. Objectives: Conduct a pilot study to learn about the use of mobile applications as a tool to obtain nutritional information by food consumers. Methodology: A questionnaire was prepared, distributed to 293 participants, related to the download of apps that scan food labels, their use and the opinion of the survey on their usefulness and reliability. Results: 34.5% of the respondents are users of applications with food label scanning. 70% use them when shopping, to find out the global information on foods or the composition of certain nutrients. However, only a third considers that this information is completely useful and reliable. Conclusion: Due to the growing use by the population of mobile applications to evaluate the labeling of foods, they should include scientifically verified, useful and truthful information. Furthermore, users should have an adequate knowledge to interpret the information received through these apps.
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References
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