Jarred baby food purchasing habits among mothers of infants in Hungary, and the features of baby food labels

Consumers are becoming more conscious of product selection owing to the vast amount of information available on the Internet. This attitude is particularly apparent towards food products sold in the market. The healthy lifestyle trend has led to the appreciation of nutrition facts labels on packaged foods. Information, such as guideline daily amounts (GDA), product components, manufacturer details, expiration date, etc. influences our purchase decisions. By listing the ingredients and providing the recommended intake levels, these labels especially play a key role in influencing the purchasing decisions of consumers regarding first food options. This is particularly true for a growing number of mothers whose infants have intolerance to various foods (containing dairy products, eggs, etc.). The purpose of this study is to examine the information content on the labels of jarred baby foods available from different manufacturers in Hungary with the help of a questionnaire survey and to determine whether there is a difference between the purchase behaviour of mothers and the purchasing tendencies. In the view of the demographic problem of aging in Europe, it has become important to focus on the kind of foods consumed by the population. In this context, it is crucial to examine the first foods of babies which set up the foundation of their health for the rest of their life. The authors examine the nutrition labelling of jarred baby foods. The fields of economics, marketing, and consumer protection law are combined in this paper because they are key to examining consumer rights in the studied context.