Consumer Watch: Food labels lack data

Less than 10% products in NZ shops can be classed as sustainable, says a marketing professor.

Most shoppers want a new clear labelling system to help identify sustainable products, a study has found.

And 70 per cent say it should be a company's responsibility to provide that information, which is increasingly done overseas, according to an Otago University marketing study.

Rob Aitken, Otago University marketing professor, said New Zealand consumers wanted to buy sustainable products but did not have enough information to know how.

"Consumers simply do not have enough information about the sustainability of the products that are available to make the choices that they want," he said.

Rob Aitken, Otago University marketing professor, says NZ consumers want to buy sustainable products but do not know how.

His survey of 500 people also found that more than half the respondents felt existing claims made about sustainable products were not credible.

"Sometimes there's no information, sometimes consumers don't believe it and sometimes there are so many different ticks, stars and medals you wonder 'what do they mean by that?'"

Less than 10 per cent of products sold in New Zealand shops could be classed as sustainable, Aitken said.

He is doing more research to understand what information consumers needed and how that could be communicated.

Aitken said he would like to develop a similar system to the US GoodGuide, where consumers can get information about a company's track record.

New Zealand's producers could benefit by offering information on how their products got from the farm gate to the plate, he said.

"It's a great opportunity to complement the clean, green, pure image."