ABSTRACT

The recent rapid industrialization and globalization has been reported to affect dietary patterns in Nigeria. Thus, the objective of this study was to review evidences on content analysis of food labeling and food composition researches in Nigeria. The study employed Prisma protocol in the generation of evidence. A comprehensive research was conducted across two (2) major academic databases (PubMed and Google Scholar) with the aid of search terms, that were coined from the topic. The articles gotten were included because, the studies were conducted in Nigeria, they examined food labeling and food composition, they were published in English language and in any other language with English translation, they were original articles and published from 2000-to-date (2023). A total of 1,021 articles were identified during the search and 15 articles were deemed eligible, they were then extracted and facilitated by utilizing IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The extracted data included study characteristics such as author, year of publication, country/location, study design, sample size, sampling technique, variables, study instruments, data analysis and key findings. Quality assessment/ appraisal was also performed with the use of Joanna's Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tool. The result obtained after the quality appraisal was conducted showed that, a total of three (3) studies had a high quality of 9/11, 8/11 and 7/11, six (6) studies had a medium quality of 6/11 and 5/11 and six (6) studies had the least quality of 4/11, 3/11, 2/11 and 1/11. General evidences obtained from the studies showed that there is a growing global awareness on the importance of food labels. This was observed to be driven by health, nutrition and dietary preferences. In conclusion, a brief complexity and diversity of food composition was highlighted as a result of the gap created by limited studies. This gap should be breached to maintain up to date and accurate food composition databases, as this is crucial for public health initiatives, nutritional research and policy development. Furthermore, this paper identified that digital technologies and sensitization by various institutions are playing an increasingly significant role in providing consumers with access to information about food labeling. This trend emphasizes the need for standardization of reliable data on food labels and food composition to empower consumers by providing clear, consistent and accurate information which in turn will help them to make informed healthier food choices that can contribute to their overall health and well-being.