UV-filters and musk fragrances in seafood commercialized in Europe Union: Occurrence, risk and exposure assessment.

In the framework of the FP7 ECsafeSeafood project, 62 seafood samples commercialized in Europe Union from several representative species - mackerel, tuna, salmon, seabream, cod, monkfish, crab, shrimp, octopus, perch and plaice - were analysed for residues of 21 personal care products (PCPs), including 11 UV-filters (UV-Fs) and 10 musk fragrances (musks). PCPs analysis were performed by Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective Rugged, Safe (QuEChERS), combined with liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) or dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE), followed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The results showed the presence in a wide range of samples of nine out of eleven UV-Fs compounds analysed, namely 2-ethylhexyl salicylate (EHS), 2-ethylhexyl,4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidenecamphor (4-MBC), benzophenone-1 (BP1), benzophenone-3 (BP3), isoamyl-4-methoxycinnamate (IMC), 2,2'-dihydroxy-4,4'-dimethoxybenzophenone (DHMB), homosalate (HS), and octocrylene (OC), whereas galaxolide (HHCB), galaxolide lactone (HHCB-lactone), and tonalide (AHTN) were the most found musks. The potential risks to human health associated with the exposure to eight of the more prevalent PCPs - EHS, EHMC, 4-MBC, BP1, BP3, IMC, HHCB, and AHTN - through seafood consumption were assessed for consumers from five European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain). Results showed that the human exposure to UV-Fs and musks estimated from the concentration values found in seafood and the daily consumption of concerned seafood species, were far below toxicological reference values.

Trained-user opinion about Welfare Quality measures and integrated scoring of dairy cattle welfare.

The Welfare Quality (WQ) protocol for on-farm dairy cattle welfare assessment describes 27 measures and a stepwise method for integrating values for these measures into 11 criteria scores, grouped further into 4 principle scores and finally into an overall welfare categorization with 4 levels. We conducted an online survey to examine whether trained users' opinions of the WQ protocol for dairy cattle correspond with the integrated scores (criteria, principles, and overall categorization) calculated according to the WQ protocol. First, the trained users' scores (n = 8-15) for reliability and validity and their ranking of the importance of all measures for herd welfare were compared with the degree of actual effect of these measures on the WQ integrated scores. Logistic regression was applied to identify the measures that affected the WQ overall welfare categorization into the "not classified" or "enhanced" categories for a database of 491 European herds. The smallest multivariate model maintaining the highest percentage of both sensitivity and specificity for the "enhanced" category contained 6 measures, whereas the model for "not classified" contained 4 measures. Some of the measures that were ranked as least important by trained users (e.g., measures relating to drinkers) had the highest influence on the WQ overall welfare categorization. Conversely, measures rated as most important by the trained users (e.g., lameness and mortality) had a lower effect on the WQ overall category. In addition, trained users were asked to allocate criterion and overall welfare scores to 7 focal herds selected from the database (n = 491 herds). Data on all WQ measures for these focal herds relative to all other herds in the database were provided. The degree to which expert scores corresponded to each other, the systematic difference, and the correspondence between median trained-user opinion and the WQ criterion scores were then tested. The level of correspondence between expert scoring and WQ scoring for 6 of the 12 criteria and for the overall welfare score was low. The WQ scores of the protocol for dairy cattle thus lacked correspondence with trained users on the importance of several welfare measures.

Risk/Benefit Communication about Food-A Systematic Review of the Literature.

A systematic review relevant to the following research questions was conducted (1) the extent to which different theoretical frameworks have been applied to food risk/benefit communication and (2) the impact such food risk/benefit communication interventions have had on related risk/benefit attitudes and behaviors. Fifty four papers were identified. The analysis revealed that (primarily European or US) research interest has been relatively recent. Certain food issues were of greater interest to researchers than others, perhaps reflecting the occurrence of a crisis, or policy concern. Three broad themes relevant to the development of best practice in risk (benefit) communication were identified: the characteristics of the target population; the contents of the information; and the characteristics of the information sources. Within these themes, independent and dependent variables differed considerably. Overall, acute risk (benefit) communication will require advances in communication process whereas chronic communication needs to identify audience requirements. Both citizen's risk/benefit perceptions and (if relevant) related behaviors need to be taken into account, and recommendations for behavioral change need to be concrete and actionable. The application of theoretical frameworks to the study of risk (benefit) communication was infrequent, and developing predictive models of effective risk (benefit) communication may be contingent on improved theoretical perspectives.

Economic impact of decreasing stocking densities in broiler production in Belgium.

Stocking density is a prominent topic in public debates on animal welfare and was one of the reasons for the European Commission to set limits to the stocking density on broiler farms. The objective of this paper was to calculate in detail the financial impact of changes in technical and management variables due to decreasing stocking densities in line with new European Union (EU) regulations. Therefore, the productive performance indicators such as BW, mortality, or feed conversion and farm technical data such as water consumption and heating of 3 independent experiments conducted at a poultry research station in Flanders (Belgium) were combined. Using the partial budget technique only those elements that change with stocking density have been taken into account. Reducing stocking density implies a recalculation of all costs on a reduced number of birds. This yields an economic situation that leaves hardly any profit margin for most of the broiler producers under the present market conditions. It was found that the critical threshold of stocking density for maintaining profitability under the present market and technical conditions is around 46 kg/m(2), thus well above the EU maximum of 42 kg/m(2). It is shown, however, that with changing broiler feed and meat prices, the impact might be less negative in economic terms.

Health-related beliefs and consumer knowledge as determinants of fish consumption.

BACKGROUND: Despite scientific evidence on the positive effects of seafood consumption on human health, the consumption of fish remains below the recommended intake levels for the majority of Europeans. The present study aimed to explore cultural differences in potential determinants of fish consumption: consumers' knowledge and health-related beliefs, as well as the relationship between those variables, socio-demographics and fish consumption frequency, using data from five European countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional consumer survey was carried out in 2004 with representative household samples from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Spain. The sample consisted of 4786 respondents, aged 18-84 years, who were responsible for food purchasing and cooking in the household. RESULTS: European consumers had a very strong belief that eating fish is healthy. Consumers' belief that eating fish is healthy, their interest in healthy eating and objective fish-related nutrition knowledge, positively, but only weakly, influenced fish consumption frequency. Subjective knowledge was found to be a stronger predictor of fish consumption than the previously noted factors. Age and education contributed, both directly and indirectly through knowledge, to explain fish consumption behaviour. However, the path coefficients in the estimated model were relatively low, which indicates that fish consumption frequency was also determined by factors other than health-related beliefs and consumers' knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study suggest that communication should focus on health-related benefits other than fish consumption alone. Communicating that eating fish is healthy and stressing the health benefits of fish alone, as is still commonly performed (e.g. in generic promotion and other types of public information campaigns) will be insufficient to achieve higher levels of compliance with fish consumption recommendations.

Buying higher welfare poultry products? Profiling Flemish consumers who do and do not.

A substantial number of studies has already investigated differences within the consumer market with regard to attitudes and perceptions in relation to farm animal welfare. Likewise, several studies focused on the gap that exists between positive attitudes and reported consumption or purchase intentions for sustainable food products in general and higher welfare products more specific, and on the factors influencing this attitude-behavior gap. Little or no studies, however, have started from reported pro-welfare behavior to distinguish between consumer groups and to explore the motivations of the respective behavior. With this study, we aim to group consumers according to their reported buying frequency of higher welfare eggs and higher welfare chicken meat. Similarities and dissimilarities between these groups are mapped in terms of individual characteristics, product attribute importance, perceived consumer effectiveness, perception of higher welfare products, and attitude toward a welfare label. The research methodology applied was a quantitative study with cross-sectional consumer survey data collected in Flanders in spring 2007 (n = 469). Pro-welfare behavior was unevenly distributed across different consumer segments, despite a general interest and concern for bird welfare. A consistent choice for standard (no welfare premium) poultry products was related to strong perceived price and availability barriers, to a low importance attached to ethical issues as product attributes, and to a low perceived consumer effectiveness. A consistent choice for products with higher welfare standards to the contrast associated with a high importance attached to ethical issues; a low effect of price and availability perception; a strong association of higher welfare products with product attributes like health, taste, and quality; and a high perceived consumer effectiveness. The identification of market segments with common characteristics is essential for positioning higher welfare products and developing effective communication strategies. Finally, a welfare label emerged as an appropriate communication vehicle for consumers who engage in pro-welfare behavior and who experienced the label as a solution to lower the search costs for higher welfare products.

Consumer perception versus scientific evidence about alternatives for manual catching of broilers in Belgium.

Commercial broiler chickens are exposed to a number of potential stressors prior to slaughter, including catching, crating, and transportation. To ameliorate animal welfare and prevent product quality loss during these processes, numerous scientific studies have been performed. As a result, different technical innovations have been presented such as mechanical catching instead of manual catching. The success of a catching machine as an alternative for manual catching of broilers will not only depend on its economic, animal, and human welfare benefits but also on its acceptance by society and consumers. The aim of this research was to assess if individuals' subjective perceptions of catching methods align with objective scientific facts. This research was focused on questions and issues related to the consumers' expected bottlenecks and motives for accepting these technologies after being exposed to video segments of each catching method. In general, the gap between consumer perception and scientific evidence related to manual and mechanical catching is limited. For those bottlenecks where science is inconclusive, respondents also have no explicit preference. Despite absence of major gaps between consumer perception and expert knowledge, preferences of particular consumer segments do not align well with scientific evidence. This holds in particular for female, younger, urban individuals who attach high importance to animal welfare issues.

Consumers' preferences toward techniques for improving manual catching of poultry.

Growing interest in ameliorating animal welfare has prompted numerous studies that compare various aspects of manual and mechanical catching. In general, mechanical catching has been adopted as a realistic alternative for manual catching. The success of a catching machine as an alternative for manual catching does not only depend on its practical applicability, but also on its acceptance by "the general public." In the history of technological change, public perception of new technologies has often been ambivalent. Against this background, it is important to know how consumers perceive the production methods. This paper provides an evaluation of the preferences for catching methods by "society" to investigate whether there is a shift in preference due to the confrontation with video segments and the potential effect of awareness and importance attached to animal welfare on preference. Data were gathered through a questionnaire-based survey, including 450 respondents, performed in Belgium. For this study, the data indicated that when subjects were provided information concerning catching methods of broilers, they liked the technology much more. However, for those respondents without prior awareness of both catching methods or with high importance attached to animal welfare, giving information could not convince them of the advantage of using a mechanical catching machine. It is obvious that preference varies with the awareness and experience of the respondents. Future research should move forward from simple assessments of consumer concerns about the technologies and focus more directly on questions and issues related to the consumer's expected bottlenecks of these technologies. In this way, working at a better understanding can directly influence the acceptance of these technologies.

The role of health-related claims and health-related symbols in consumer behaviour: Design and conceptual framework of the CLYMBOL project and initial results.

Health claims and symbols are potential aids to help consumers identify foods that are healthier options. However, little is known as to how health claims and symbols are used by consumers in real-world shopping situations, thus making the science-based formulation of new labelling policies and the evaluation of existing ones difficult. The objective of the European Union-funded project Role of health-related CLaims and sYMBOLs in consumer behaviour (CLYMBOL) is to determine how health-related information provided through claims and symbols, in their context, can affect consumer understanding, purchase and consumption. To do this, a wide range of qualitative and quantitative consumer research methods are being used, including product sampling, sorting studies (i.e. how consumers categorise claims and symbols according to concepts such as familiarity and relevance), cross-country surveys, eye-tracking (i.e. what consumers look at and for how long), laboratory and in-store experiments, structured interviews, as well as analysis of population panel data. EU Member States differ with regard to their history of use and regulation of health claims and symbols prior to the harmonisation of 2006. Findings to date indicate the need for more structured and harmonised research on the effects of health claims and symbols on consumer behaviour, particularly taking into account country-wide differences and individual characteristics such as motivation and ability to process health-related information. Based on the studies within CLYMBOL, implications and recommendations for stakeholders such as policymakers will be provided.

Consumer reactions and economic consequences of the BSE crisis.

Meat demand has been affected by safety controversies that have struck the European meat chain during the last decade. The major issue was the occurrence of the BSE crisis, with its major impact in mainland Europe from 1996 on. Much research has addressed concern over declining consumer confidence in the meat food category and what can be done to counter the deteriorating image for fresh meat. This contribution focuses on consumer reactions and consequent economic implications of the BSE crisis in Belgium. With respect to consumer reactions, the reported data and analyses result from consumer studies that are on going since 1996 until today. The studies combine econometric demand analyses based on time series data with descriptive analyses of consumer survey data. The findings show shifts of consumer attitude and perception in line with mass media coverage. In the case of beef, a negative press to advertising ratio of five is found, with the total gain attributed to advertising being five times lower in absolute value than the total loss resulting from negative publicity. In terms of economic impact, direct and indirect costs are discussed. Most of those cost items have not yet been quantified comprehensively. Based on all findings from an economic perspective, it is clear that taking away the grounds for negative press, as well as searching for better and more effective ways of communication emerge as major recommendations for the meat industry, and particularly for the beef sector.

Consumer perception, facts and possibilities to improve acceptability of health and sensory characteristics of pork.

Changes at consumer level, as well as an image decline of the meat sector, resulted in considerable decreases of fresh meat consumption. Consumer orientation is considered as a prerequisite to slow down or reverse the adverse fresh pork consumption evolution. Consumer perception of pork is taken as the starting point of this article. Focus is first on assessing differences between facts related to nutritional value and healthiness aspects of pork and their perception by Belgian meat consumers. Second, possibilities of improving pork characteristics are identified. Pork is perceived worst as compared to beef and poultry on the attributes leanness, healthiness, taste and tenderness. Consumer-oriented response strategies should focus at improving these intrinsic quality characteristics, before other elements like traceability, labelling or marketing can be implemented successfully. The possibilities to improve nutritional value, healthiness and sensory characteristics pertain to selection, pig diet composition, transport, slaughter and post-slaughter circumstances. A successful adoption of consumer orientation urges for co-operation throughout the entire pork production chain. The identified topics are key attention points for adequate production and marketing by the pork sector, as well as for consequent communication by government and public services.

Feasibility of grass co-digestion in an agricultural digester, influence on process parameters and residue composition.

This study investigated the potential of co-digestion of grass clippings in a typical Flemish agro-digester characterized by an input of 30% manure, 30% maize silage and 40% side streams. No significant adverse effects in the microbiological functioning of the reactors were detected when part of the maize input was replaced by 10-20% grass. However at the highest dosage of grass input, dry matter content and the viscosity of the reactor content increased substantially. These parameters could be reduced again by enzyme addition in the form of MethaPlus L100. It can be concluded that co-digestion of 20% grass in an agricultural digester would not pose any problem if dry matter content and viscosity are improved by the use of an enzyme mixture.

[Success factors in public healthy eating campaigns: a case study]. / Factores de éxito en campañas de alimentación saludable: un estudio de casos.

INTRODUCTION: Public campaigns and interventions are rarely fully evaluated regarding their effectiveness. The analysis of past, successful activities can contribute to the future development of public campaigns and interventions for healthier eating. OBJECTIVES: The study of public campaigns and interventions for healthier eating aimed at identifying the underlying success factors and describing their relation. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with representatives of 11 cases that had been identified as especially successful in an earlier research step. The interviews were analysed with regard to possible success factors and the latter used to develop a model of success factor interrelation. RESULTS: It was found that success of the cases was first, attributed to characteristics of the macro environment or to public private partnerships in the initiation of campaigns, second, to the engagement of social communities, elements of empowerment of the target group and the implementation of social marketing measures, and thirdly, in citizens adoption of the campaign and in accompanying structural changes. CONCLUSIONS: The model and identified success factors underline that success can stem from three crucial phases: the set up of a campaign, the conduction and finally, the interrelation with the citizen. The model can serve as a guide in the future development of campaigns.

Consumer response to the possible use of a vaccine method to control boar taint v. physical piglet castration with anaesthesia: a quantitative study in four European countries.

In most European countries, male piglets being reared for meat are physically castrated without anaesthesia in order to avoid boar taint and to safeguard sensory meat quality. This method is increasingly criticised for its violation of piglet welfare. Alternative methods are being researched and castration with anaesthesia or analgesia and vaccination (immunisation) against gonadotropin-releasing hormone (using Improvac®, Pfizer GmbH) have been proposed as possible solutions. In addition to efficacy, the successful introduction and adoption of the vaccine method by stakeholders in pig supply chains are expected to depend on a favourable reception by consumers. This large-scale quantitative cross-country study (n = 4031) involving representative samples of consumers in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium does not support the reserved attitude of stakeholders who fear potential low market acceptance. The vaccine method was actually preferred by the majority of consumers surveyed (69.6% of the participants) and it was perceived as equally effective in terms of avoiding boar taint; 43.8% of the consumers reported an intention to seek out pork from pigs where the vaccine had been used to control boar taint, whereas 33.7% reported an intention to avoid pork from pigs physically castrated with anaesthesia. Consumers' favourable dispositions to the vaccine method were independent of dominant ethical, health or price orientations when purchasing pork.

Attitudinal determinants of fish consumption in Spain and Poland.

OBJECTIVE: To identify attitudinal determinants of fish consumption in Spain and Poland, and to discuss the potential impact of local healthy eating policies in the observed reported frequency of fish consumption. DESIGN: Repeated survey analysis , multivariate linear regression analysis. Data collected through a questionnaire that included socio-demographics, self-reported anthropometrics, as well as validated items of attitudinal and involvement scales, validated items of knowledge about fish, and behaviours (reported fish consumption). SETTING: Consumer survey in Poland and Spain, 1800 respondents in 2004 and 1815 respondents in 2008. RESULTS: In Poland, intentions to consume more fish and reported fish consumption increased in the four years period between both surveys, together with objective knowledge regarding fish. In Spain with the exception of subjective knowledge, fish consumption at home and total fish consumption, all attitudinal and involvement scale changes were statistically significant. Multivariate regression revealed that age had a small but significant positive effect in all scales, except for satisfaction with life, fish consumption out of home and subjective health. Satisfaction with life and subjective knowledge were significantly determined by household size. The differences between countries were statistically significant for involvement with health and fish, for intention to eat fish, the general attitudes and objective knowledge regarding fish. CONCLUSIONS: In Poland, a more positive attitude towards fish, and increased levels of knowledge about this product were observed and could partially be attributed to national policy efforts. In Spain, an interesting feature was observed: more people reported choosing fish when eating out in 2008 compared with respondents in 2004. Such a trend suggests that people slowly move towards healthier choices even in the out of home eating.

Consumer satisfaction with dry-cured ham in five European countries.

The objective is to investigate consumer satisfaction with dry-cured ham in five European countries. A logistic regression model has been fitted using data collected through a cross-sectional web-based survey carried out in Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Poland and Greece during January 2008 (n=2437 of which 2156 were dry-cured ham consumers). Satisfaction was evaluated as overall satisfaction, as well as specific satisfaction with healthfulness, price, convenience and taste. The findings show that the main determinant of overall satisfaction is taste satisfaction, hence, producers are recommended to focus on matching sensory acceptability of dry-cured ham. No significant between-country differences were found, reflecting the wide availability of this product in all countries. Consumer characteristics influenced their level of satisfaction. Men, older (age > 52 years) and frequent consumers of dry-cured ham consumption were more likely to be satisfied with dry-cured ham. Consumers trust the butcher's advice and they preferred purchasing dry-cured ham at a butcher shop rather than in a supermarket.