How do we choose foods ?

The majority of Maltese consumers are usually completely dependent on an external source of food supply. The enthusiastic gardener with a vegetable patch and a large family freezer could be self sufficient in vegetables, but there would still be the need to purchase other food items required by the family to consume a balanced diet. So, one can safely say that Maltese consumers must purchase food from various types of food retail outlets.

Some decades ago, consumers were very limited in their choice of food from retail outlets and depended mainly on locally produced items. But today, with innovative technological developments in food preservation, extensive food transportation means and global distribution systems, there are so many products to choose from, that food shopping has become a bewildering experience for many a consumer.

Also, since most food is perishable in its natural state, the route taken by the food from producer to the consumer via the wholesaler and the retailer must be efficient and speedy in the case of the distribution of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, or else the food must be preserved by some method before distribution.

Consumers need to consider various factors when shopping for food items from the myriad of products available in various shopping outlets. These include health, environmental, economic and social factors.

Read more below for a better understanding of these and other factors, including the different food retail outlets available, consumer empowerment, labelling and packaging, signs and quality marks, and preservation.

Shopping for Food

Food: Impact on health and on the environment

Drinks: Impact on health and on the environment

The drinks (beverages) we consume are an important part of our diet and can make a varied nutritional contribution. Our choices can also have an impact on the natural environment. Drinking practices have changed greatly over the years. In the Middle Ages, in northern Europe, grain-based beers and mead were the main drinks - even at breakfast, until tea, coffee and chocolate became popular. Spirits were widely produced by the sixteenth century following the discovery by alchemists of how to separate liquids from one another. Water was often contaminated in those days, so fermented (...) Read more

Food choices, solidarity and consumer empowerment

Most consumers have an interest in having access to information to enable them to make rapid and healthier decisions at point of purchase, in supermarket isles and restaurants. Nowadays, some consumers are also considering the impact of their food choices on the economy and the natural environment of the countries where the foods were produced, or on the wellbeing of the labourers involved in production. Others are also interested in supporting local agriculture and local foods, as well as safeguarding or reviving traditional food products. The availability of information on food (...) Read more

Food labelling

Consumers have an interest in having access to correct, clear and easy-to-locate information to enable them to make rapid and informed food product decisions at point of purchase, in supermarket aisles and restaurants. Similarly, consumers have a right to safe food packaged appropriately.There are many laws and policies that already support this desire and this right. With respect to being informed, consumers should take time to read carefully the labels found on food packaging, as these labels contain information and data that help them to buy more wisely and to reduce wastage, hence (...) Read more

Food signs and quality marks

Nowadays, consumers are more conscious of the impact their food has on their health and this has created a need for quality marks that reflect the processes and treatments use don a food product. Normal food labels give us information so that we can choose between foods. Certification and Quality signs or marks provide additional information which indicates that the product has an added value. A quality sign or mark guarantees a special characteristic of the product. A quality sign or mark gives the consumer a convenient, visual quality assessment tool, originating from a reliable (...) Read more

Preserving food and sustainability

Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or greatly slow down spoilage (loss of quality, edibility or nutritive value) caused or accelerated by micro-organisms. Some methods, however, actually use benign micro-organisms, such as certain types of bacteria, yeasts or fungi, to add specific qualities and to preserve food (e.g., cheese, wine). Methods of preservation commonly used in Malta are freezing, bottling, drying, salting, pickling and jam-making. The different methods require different raw ingredients and different amounts of energy usage. A sustainable (...) Read more