Consumer understanding of UK salt intake advice

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of consumer information and advice issued by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) in terms of consumer understanding. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 118 female respondents in Scotland completed a questionnaire investigating their knowledge about the role of dietary salt and testing their understanding of educational material supplied by the FSA. Findings - A significant proportion (P < 0.01) of the respondents considered themselves to be health conscious and nutritionally aware, but they were less aware of their salt intake and specific salt in the diet details prior to FSA information. Research limitations/implications - The study is limited to a convenience sample of relatively advantaged consumers, so that further work is required with more vulnerable consumers. Originality/value - A survey tool was employed that may be adapted to evaluate consumer information campaigns in any area of food policy.