Nutrition information enables consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing and\r\nconsuming food products. Despite this, the issue of consumer awareness and usage of\r\nnutrition information has attracted little research attention in developing countries. This study\r\npresents findings of an empirical investigation of nutrition information awareness and usage\r\nin Botswana. The study is descriptive and data was collected using a structured questionnaire\r\nadministered to a sample of 150 consumers in Gaborone, the Capital City of Botswana. A\r\nmall-intercept technique was used in the selection of the respondents. The main findings of\r\nthe study indicate that the level of awareness of nutrition information among the sampled\r\nconsumers is relatively high, and that the majority of them use nutrition information to\r\ninform food purchases. The study further finds that whereas nutrition information awareness\r\ndoes not significantly differ across the demographic segments, usage differs. Lack of\r\nknowledge and interest are the main factors that prevent consumers from using nutrition\r\ninformation. Nutrition information is mostly used when comparing products or when buying\r\nfood products for the first time. These findings highlight the need to improve nutrition\r\neducation in Botswana. The findings also suggest that food producers in Botswana need to\r\nuse nutrition information to differentiate their products from competitors�. Similarly, the\r\nfindings highlight the need for the food industry in Botswana to establish more effective\r\nnutrition information labeling standards. However, these findings need to be interpreted with\r\ncaution as they are based on consumers� self-report of nutrition information use, which is\r\nhighly subjective.
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