Food products labeling in Georgia: problems and solutions

  • Authors

    • Tamuna Gurchiani Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
    • Tengiz Verulava Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
    • Revaz Jorbenadze Chapidze Emergency Cardiology Center
    2019-04-07
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.28378
  • Food Labeling, Healthy Behavior, Marketing Research, Georgia.
  • Abstract

    The Georgian legislation is a very clear regarding food labeling and completely shares the regulations and fundamental principles of all EU member states at formal level, but there are no effective mechanisms and institutions in place to react to the violation of the established regulations of the law, as well as to be responsible on the increase of public awareness, raising the food purchase and consumption culture. The aim of the thesis is to show problems in the Georgian food market in terms of fulfillment of fundamental norms envisaged under the EU Association Agreement. Qualitative research methodology - Observation method was used for data gathering. Observation was conducted in agricultural hypermarkets of Tbilisi. The situation in Georgia in terms of food labeling norms is quite complicated. The fundamental rules are met in no object of food sales, the information printed on food products creates the obscure presentation for customers regarding its content and suitability, the level of awareness of consumers is very low, consumers are not interested in details about the label information. The consumers focus on the price of products not on the information about its characteristics. Despite regulations that exists on formal level and existence of National Food Agency and also several active projects within partnership with European Union, situation in Georgia is complicated with lack of information from consumers and spurning food safety norms from their side. It is important to increase consumers awareness and actively turning them into those processes.

     

  • References

    1. [1] Alpert, P.T. (2015). Super Foods with Medicinal Properties. Home Health Care Management and Practice, 28(2):127-129. [Crossref]. https://doi.org/10.1177/1084822315586778.

      [2] Asatiani, M., Verulava, T. (2017). Georgian Welfare State: Preliminary Study Based on Esping-Andersen’s Typology. Economics and Sociology, 10 (4): 21-28. [Crossref], [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2017/10-4/2.

      [3] Berdzuli, L. (2016). Bringing EU food safety standards to Georgia: a story of success. European Union External Action. [Link].

      [4] Bonsmann, S., Celemín, L.F., Larrañaga, A., Egger, S., Wills, J.M., Hodgkins, C., Raats, M.M. (2010). Penetration of nutrition information on food labels across the EU-27 plus Turkey. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 64:1379–1385. [Google Scholar] [PMC]. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.179.

      [5] Davidović, DB, Tomić, DV, Paunović KŽ, Vasiljević, ND, Jorga, JB. (2015). Nutrition labelling of pre-packaged foods in Belgrade, Serbia: current situation. Public Health Nutr, 18(11):1969-78. [PubMed], [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014002353.

      [6] Emerson, M., Kovziridze, T. (2016). Georgia and Europe, A short guide. Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels. [Link], [Google Scholar].

      [7] European Commission (EC). (2018) Food information to consumers – legislation. [View at Publisher].

      [8] Europe Foundation (EF). (2017). Food Safety Regulation in Georgia: Assessment of the Government's Reform Efforts in 2016. Europe Foundation. [Link].

      [9] Fox, J. A., and H. H. Peterson. (2002). Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE): Risks and Implications for the United States. Proceedings of the NCR-134 Conference on Applied Commodity Price Analysis, Forecasting, and Market Risk Management. St. Louis, MO. [Link].

      [10] Ganpat, W., Kathiravan, G., Dalrymple, J. (2018). Use of Food Label Information by Trinidad Consumers and Implications for National Health. Journal of Agricultural and Food Information, 19(2):121-128. [Crossref], [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496505.2017.1374188.

      [11] Georgian Law (GL). (2012). Code on Products Safety and Free Turnover. Parliament of Georgia. [Link].

      [12] Georgian Law (GL). (2014). labeling of the genetically modified organisms intended for food or fodder and genetically modified productsmade of them. Parliament of Georgia. [Link].

      [13] Hong, J., Lee, H. (2018). Culinary recipe recommendation based on text analytics. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7(4):5-6. [View at Publisher]. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.4.19591.

      [14] Keenan, S., Hammond, J., Bjegović-Mikanović, V., McGuinn, J., Petrović, D. (2013). Food safety and public health situation in Serbia. Directorate General for internal policies, policy department. European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. [Link].

      [15] Key Consumers Rights (KCR). (2013). Web site of Georgian Strategic Researches and Development Center.

      [16] Legislative Act (LA). (2009). Additional requirements to food products labeling. Parliament of Georgia. [Link].

      [17] Lysenko, M. (2014). The problem of ensuring the economic security of dairy industry in Ukraine. Economics and Sociology, 7(2):160-171. [Crossref], [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2014/7-2/13.

      [18] Mahesh, C., Kingston Stanley, P., Vijaydaniel, P., Saneevi Gandhi, A. (2018). Embedded design consideration for the implementation of food intake monitoring system: Validated using LabVIEW software. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7(2):47-51. [View et Publisher]. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i2.8.10322.

      [19] Meskhia E. (2016). Food security problems in post-Soviet Georgia. Annals of Agrarian Science. 14 (2):46-51. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aasci.2016.03.004.

      [20] Nastasijevic, I., Tomasevic, I., Smigic, N., Milicevic, D., Petrovic, Z., Djekic, I. (2016). Hygiene assessment of Serbian meat establishments using different scoring systems. Food Control, 62:193-200. [View at Publisher] [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.10.034.

      [21] Okoye, U.O., Ngwu, C.N., Tanyi, P.L. (2015). Knowledge of nutritional and health needs of children among rural residents of Enugu North Senatorial zone in Enugu state, Nigeria. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 35(2):148-163. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272684X15569489.

      [22] Phull, S. (2015). The mediterranean diet: Socio-cultural relevance for contemporary health promotion. Open Public Health Journal, 8(1):35-40. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874944501508010035.

      [23] Reshetnikova, E.G., Reshetnikova, N.V., Iosipenko, V.D. (2018). Risks and threats to Russia's food security: The current situation and tools for remedying it. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7(4):402-405 [View at Publisher].

      [24] Sharma, LL, Teret, SP, Brownell, KD. (2010). the food industry and self-regulation: standards to promote success and to avoid public health failures. Am J Public Health. 2010; 100(2):240-6. [PMC] [Google Scholars]. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.160960.

      [25] Todua, L. (2014). Food Regulations in the European Union. Food labeling. Tbilisi. [Link].

      [26] Todua, N. (2017). Influence of food labeling awereness on healty behavior of Georgian consumers. Ecoforum, 6 (2). [Link] [Google Scholar].

      [27] Türközü, D., Ayhan, B., Köksal, E. (2017) The nutrition transition in Turkey: Trends in energy and macronutrients supply from 1961 to 2011. Gazi Medical Journal, 28(4):283-288. [Crossref] [Google Scholar].

      [28] Urotadze, E., Mghebrishvili, B.D. (2016). Characteristics of Food Products Labeling in Georgia. International Scientific Symposium “Economics, Business & Finance“. Proceedings. Jurmala. [Link].

      [29] Verulava T., Dangadze B. (2018). Health Capital and Economic Growth: Evidence from Georgia. The Open Public Health Journal. 11:401-406. [Link] [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874944501811010401.

      [30] Verulava, T. (2018). Pension System in South Caucasus: Challenges and Reform Options. Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, 12 (1):168-174. [View at Publisher], [Google Scholar].

      [31] Wickham, C.A, Carbone, E.T. (2018). “Just Say It like It Is!†Use of a Community-Based Participatory Approach to Develop a Technology-Driven Food Literacy Program for Adolescents. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 38(2):83-97. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272684X17749572.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Gurchiani, T., Verulava, T., & Jorbenadze, R. (2019). Food products labeling in Georgia: problems and solutions. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4), 5654-5658. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.28378

    Received date: 2019-03-14

    Accepted date: 2019-03-23

    Published date: 2019-04-07