European Consumers Attitudes toward Ethnic Foods: Case of Date Fruits.

This study focuses on the perception of ethnic foods by European consumers. The aim of this work is to enrich the literature on the analysis of consumer perception of ethnic foods by focusing on the socio-demographic characteristics of consumers, the possible role played by product attributes, psychographic characteristics, and willingness to pay for these products, specifically date fruits. We surveyed a representative sample of 1123 Italian and French consumers. Using an ordered logit model, we found that, as for any other product, geographical indication, region of production, organic character, and fair trade are attributes that individuals consider in their purchase decisions for ethnic foods. Similarly, country of origin is a source of quality for ethnic foods such as dates. The results reveal that women, more educated individuals, and Generation Z (younger individuals) have a higher willingness to pay for organic, fair trade, and GI-labeled ethnic foods. Finally, this willingness to pay is driven more by product knowledge than by cognitive closeness to the ethnic food.

Approaches for reducing wastes in the agricultural sector. An analysis of Millennials' willingness to buy food with upcycled ingredients.

Upcycled ingredients are one of the most significant current trends in the food industry aimed to tackle the challenge of solid food loss reduction. This study investigates the potential market among Millennial consumers for products enriched with upcycled ingredients in Italy. We surveyed a sample of 317 Italian Millennial consumers, using a web-based survey. 62% of respondents declared to be informed about the existence of food made from upcycled ingredients and 53% declared to be willing to buy this novel food. Also, 69% of respondents think that food enriched with upcycled ingredients can bring environmental benefits, while only 40% believe that it can bring health benefits. Using a logit model to analyse consumer preferences, we found that food neophobia and food technology neophobia negatively impact on the likelihood of being willing to buy food produced with upcycled ingredients. Also, consumers who give high importance to food certification are less likely to be willing to buy upcycled foods. Contrariwise, reading labels and believing that upcycled foods are healthier or more environmentally friendly positively impacts on the willingness of Millennial consumers to buy these foods. Results for the sample analysed eventually suggest that giving right information to consumers about the environmental and health characteristics of the products, through clear labelling, could increase their market uptake thus helping to reduce food loss and contributing to reaching circular economy objectives in the agricultural sector.

Market Opportunities for Hay Milk: Factors Influencing Perceptions among Italian Consumers.

Central and South Italy are characterized by small-scale dairy farms and growing abandonment by farmers for other, better-paid, off-farm jobs. New marketing concepts for milk can be one solution to remunerate mountain farmers for their efforts. This study investigates the potential market for hay milk in Italy. In particular, we want to understand which variables drive the people's willingness to consume hay milk, and if the European food quality certification schemes impact on people's willingness to consume milk from hay-fed cows. Data were collected from a sample of consumers from Central and South Italy (n = 331) using a web-based survey. Later, a discrete choice probit model was applied. The main results indicate that aspects as curiosity, the production place of food, the local culinary traditions, label, and environmental issues play an important role in the people's consumption intentions for milk from hay-fed cows. Moreover, the survey highlights that the respondents had positive opinion towards hay milk and highlighted some important marketing implications for the Italian milk sector. The study findings could encourage discussion about a niche market to boost local growth, initiating a process of improving livelihoods, certification of products, and use of the marketing tools addressed towards a specific milk consumer's profile. In other words, the study could provide useful implications for food manufacturers and facilitate the design of marketing strategies for hay milk produced in Central and South Italy.

Absence of symbolic and sustainable aspects in recommendations for healthy eating: a qualitative analysis of food-based dietary guidelines / Ausência de aspectos simbólicos e sustentáveis nas recomendações para alimentação saudável: uma análise qualitativa dos guias alimentares

ABSTRACT Objective Was analyzed the contents of the main messages of food-based dietary guidelines to promote healthy eating, identifying nutritional, symbolic, and sustainable recommendations. Methods Food-based dietary guidelines from 90 different countries were analyzed. These guidelines were selected from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization database. For data extraction, all messages were exported to the Nvivo software and, after repeated readings, were grouped into predefined categories and corresponding dimensions based on the literature. The categories were created according to the mixed model, that is, they were created before data analysis was performed, but modified if necessary. Results Was identified 1,982 messages grouped into the following dimensions: nutritional (n=73.9%); sustainable (3.2%); symbolic (3.3%), and others (19.7%). All food-based dietary guidelines addressed nutritional aspects, and the most frequent recommendation was regarding the consumption of fats, followed by the consumption of salt and vegetables and fruits, cited by at least 75 food-based dietary guidelines. Less than half (n=40) of the food-based dietary guidelines addressed sustainable or symbolic aspects of food and 13 of the food-based dietary guidelines addressed both aspects. However, these messages represented only 6.5% of the total messages in the documents. Conclusions The recommendations for healthy eating in the food-based dietary guidelines are incipient in terms of sustainable and symbolic issues. Recommendations for adopting healthy diets need to consider the completeness of the food and its various combinations, dietary patterns, and the factors associated with their consumption, as well as the individual's relations with food, environment, and society.

RESUMO Objetivo Analisar o conteúdo das principais mensagens de guias alimentares para promoção de alimentação saudável, identificando recomendações nutricionais, simbólicas e sustentáveis. Métodos Foram analisadas as mensagens de 90 guias alimentares selecionados a partir do banco de dados da Organização das Nações Unidas para Agricultura e Alimentação. Para a extração dos dados, todas as mensagens foram exportadas para o software Nvivo e categorizadas em categorias pré-definidas em revisão narrativa, conforme as dimensões correspondentes e outras categorias emergentes. Resultados Categorizou-se um total de 1.982 mensagens, agrupadas nas dimensões: nutricional (n=73,9%); sustentável (3,2%); simbólica (3,3%) e outras (19,7%). Todos os guias abordavam aspectos nutricionais, sendo que a recomendação mais frequente foi em relação ao consumo de gordura, seguida do consumo de sal e vegetais e frutas, citadas por pelo menos 75 guias. Menos da metade dos guias (n=40) abordaram aspectos sustentáveis ou simbólicos da alimentação e 13 abordaram ambos; contudo, essas mensagens representaram 6,5% do total presente nos documentos. Conclusão As recomendações para alimentação saudável presentes nos guias alimentares são incipientes no que se refere a questões sustentáveis e simbólicas. Recomendações para a adoção de dietas saudáveis precisam considerar a integralidade do alimento, as diversas combinações, os padrões alimentares e os fatores associados ao seu consumo, bem como as relações do indivíduo com o alimento, com o ambiente e com a sociedade.

Consumer Attitudes towards Local and Organic Food with Upcycled Ingredients: An Italian Case Study for Olive Leaves.

Food made with upcycled ingredients has received considerable attention in very recent years as a result of the need to both reduce waste and increase food nutritional properties. However, consumer acceptance of these novel foods is fundamental to their market uptake. This paper aims to assess the likelihood of the acceptance of food obtained from upcycled ingredients of olive oil productions and its association with some relevant recent consumption trends, such as organic food consumption and attention to food origin. In addition, particular attention is given to age group behaviors to appraise the differences between generations. Results suggest that, despite the negative influence of food technophobia, a core of sustainability-minded consumers seems to emerge that is interested in organic or local products, that could also favor the uptake of these novel food made with upcycled ingredients in the market. Results suggest that developing organic or "local" food products with upcycled ingredients can increase the probability of consumer acceptance.