Labelling and Safety of Foodstuff, Local Products, Governmental Measures, Conscious Consumerism – What Next?

Abstract

The rapid pace of change in science and technology, changes in legislation and the current socio-economic and socio-demographic realities have all had a marked impact on the food we buy today. The intensification of farming, such as the use of pesticides, and the industrialisation of food production, using additives and preservatives improve taste, appearance and shelf-life, for example, can be the causes for concern, among many consumers. Globalisation is another driver of change; we have more products to choose from, brought to us from all corners of the world. As a result, food can now be sourced anywhere, sometimes subject to different food quality standards. In the present study legal regulation of food labelling in EU, operation of the RASFF system, currently applied ‘Hungarian product’ trademarks and markings and the relating new Hungarian Product Regulation, the planned measures of the Hungarian Government concerning the VAT of some basic foodstuff are introduced briefly. All these are complemented with consumer behaviour surveys to see how all these considered, accepted, evaluated by consumers.