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Consumer Issues

Living with a disease which is triggered by foods which pose no threat to most people presents particular problems for allergic consumers and those in their social network. The QoL (Quality of Life) study by DunnGalvin et al (2007*) has shown that food allergy impacts directly on a child’s normal trajectory of psychosocial development in a disease-specific manner.

Food allergic children
• are at risk for negative emotional and social outcomes, including anxiety, avoidance, or risky behaviour.
• food allergy impacts directly on a child’s normal trajectory of psychosocial development in a disease-specific manner
• food allergic children have both different views of their allergy and also different coping strategies.
 
Parents
• appear to be extremely worried about their children
• demonstrate high levels of stress and anxiety due to the constant high levels of vigilance and experience feelings of guilt when their children have a reaction 
• Some of this worry is maladaptive, inhibiting the normal social development of their child and may have a long-term impact on quality of life
 
Management strategies adopted by carers of allergic children
• to control what food comes into the home
(food containing the problem allergen is not allowed into the home, particularly when  children are young)
• restriction of choice Labelling,
with regards to both content and quality of information, is therefore of crucial importance to allergic consumers in managing both their condition and the associated stress. Food allergic consumers need more time for shopping if they want to explore other products majority prefer packaged food to loose products and home cooking than catering.
 
 
In frame of a study in the Netherlands (Cornelisse et al 2008**) 20 food-allergic consumers were given a shopping list of fifteen potential problematic food products (for example a ready meal, biscuits and ice cream) and asked to buy these products as if shopping for their own household in a supermarket environment similar to the type in which they habitually shopped.
The respondents mentioned many problems about the legibility and comprehension of the food labels
• font size was too small
• the contrast between background and text was inappropriate
• the information was presented in too many languages
• no standard position for the text, which often omitted useful information
  (e.g. information about the percentages of specific ingredients would have also been appreciated)
• information placed on the label was not always trusted
• problems with precautionary (e.g. ‘may contain’) labelling
 

In order to deliver information on allergen risk new methods offer a means of providing allergic consumers with the information they require in a rapid and easy to use format whilst shopping:

• mobile phones,
using 2D Data matrix technology (interactive bar code-like symbols based on quick response codes that can be placed next to product information cards, on posters, on signage or on websites). By scanning the tags, the consumer will receive in-depth product information instantly on the phone from the retailer/manufacturer.
• Personal Shopping Assistant (PSA),
a small mobile computer with a touch screen and barcode scanner attached to the shopping trolley.
• “Smart shelf”
equipped with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader that enables the system to display information from the RFID on screens.
 
 

This work was undertaken as part of the EuroPrevall project.

* DunnGalvin A., Dubois A.E.J., de Blok B.M.J., Hourihane J.O’B. (2007) Child vs maternal perception of HRQoL in food allergy: developmental trajectories and evolution of risk behaviour. Allergy 62 (Suppl. 83), 70-166.

** Cornelisse J.R., Voordouw J., Yiakoumaki V., Theodoridis G., Frewer L.J. (2008) Food-allergic consumers' labelling preferences: a cross-cultural comparison. European Journal of Public Health 18, 115-120.