Food Allergen Survey

Dear respondent,

I am Gabrielė Bistrevičiūtė, a second-year Food Safety student at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, and I am currently preparing my master’s thesis entitled “Analysis of Allergens in Food Products: Labelling Violations, Consumer Opinion Survey, and Comparison of Allergens in Different Products.”

I invite you to participate in an anonymous survey aimed at finding out about consumers’ knowledge, experience, and opinions regarding food allergen labelling in Lithuania and Europe.

Your responses will be used solely for research purposes in preparing my master’s thesis. The survey results will be analysed and presented in aggregate form, ensuring respondents’ anonymity and confidentiality.

Please read the questions carefully when completing the questionnaire. Unless otherwise stated, select the single most suitable answer. Some questions allow you to select multiple answers.

The survey will take approximately 5–7 minutes to complete.

If you have any questions about the survey or the research, you can contact me by email:

[email protected]

Thank you for your time and participation in the research!

Results are available only to the author

Estimated answer time 6 minutes

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Food allergens are clearly labelled

I find allergen information easy to understand

I trust the information provided by food manufacturers

Food allergen labelling in Lithuania is adequate

Product labels lack clearer information

Allergens should be highlighted more prominently

Consumers are adequately informed about food allergens

There are often doubts about whether a product is safe for people with allergies

Food Allergen Survey

1. Your age:

2. Your gender:

3. Your education:

4. Which foods are you allergic to? (you may select multiple answers)

5. How often do you check food labels and ingredient lists when shopping?

6. What do you usually pay attention to on a product label?

7. Is it easy for you to find information about allergens on food product labels?

8. How often do you read allergen information on the label before buying a new food product?

9. Have you ever encountered a situation where an allergen was not clearly labelled?

10. Have you ever decided not to buy a food product because the allergen information was unclear?

11. What would be the most convenient way to present allergen information?

12. Would you support using a standardised allergen symbol system on food packaging?

13. Rate the following statements.

14. Which of the following products are classified as allergens that must be labelled under European Union legislation?

15. Is it clear to you what the statement “May contain traces of...” means?

16. What do you think the statement “May contain traces of peanuts” means?

17. Which of the following statements is correct?