issues and growing interest in healthy eating habits have also affected the demand for
food products. Processed foods which are both healthy and which require only minimal
preparation have quickly found favor in dual income households. In such cases,
because fewer of the primary ingredients are selected by the end use consumer, close
attention is often paid to nutritional labeling information. In short, promotion of the
current trend of prepared foods, which are both healthful in nature and provide time
utility through minimal preparation requirements, may benefit from the identification of
consumer characteristics common among users of nutritional labeling. Label usage
research may help to identify targetable areas based on socio-economic characteristics
where certain food products have the greatest probability of success.
Policy makers may also benefit from the evaluation of current nutritional label usage.
To boost the impact of policy tools such as NLEA, educational programs to foster label
usage may be necessary. As label usage is not homogeneous across population
segments, a program which selectively targets specific groups would maximize the net
benefits of an educational campaign.
While numerous studies have established the significance of socio-demographic
characteristics (e.g. Nayga, 1996; Klopp and McDonald, 1981; etc.), there is ample
justification to warrant further label usage research. In contrast to the majority of
relevant studies which have employed national data sets, the data source used in this
analysis represents a sample of New Jersey consumers. A localized sample better
exemplifies a specific region of the country and may help avoid incongruencies which