Do I know what I eat? The use of QR code in Food Packaging to Provide Traceability Information

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze the use of QR code in the packaging of agri-food products as a tool for communication and relationship between consumer and company, aiming to make the product and process traceable information available. In a specific way, the information considered relevant to the final consumer was identified under normal purchasing conditions. This research has an exploratory and descriptive character, and its data were collected with consumers in supermarkets located in two cities of Sao Paulo State: Marilia and Sao Carlos. The results showed that not all the information obtained in the tracking process is made available to final consumers and that the lack of knowledge about QR code is still considerable for consumers. In general, the consumers interviewed in Sao Carlos had higher income and higher education than those interviewed in Marilia, and these characteristics seemed to have resulted directly in the knowledge about the technology of the QR code, higher in Sao Carlos. The main contribution of this research is based on the survey of the information that the interviewed consumers consider important for the purchase decision of agri-food products, constituting an important reference so that the companies that currently work with traceability, be it industry or retail, can improve their labels, adding value to the marketed product. The study can be used as a starting point for other researches, testing new information and other products, making even possible comparisons.