Analyzing consumer perceptions about food safety by applying the food-related lifestyle approach.

Food safety standards remain a major concern for consumers, especially in developing and emerging economies, due to gaps in the capacities of food safety enforcement institutions and limited investments from private sector actors. This study analyzes consumer behavior and food safety-related lifestyles in Kosovo, a post-communist emerging economy. Consumer groups were identified according to their food-related lifestyle using the classical 2-stage segmentation approach of factor analysis as well as cluster analysis. The study findings indicate that almost two-thirds of the surveyed consumers are fairly or very concerned about food safety. The results reveal that highly educated female consumers are more concerned about personal health risks, food safety-related content, and related diseases. This study provides interesting insights for food safety policymakers and the agroindustry on how to promote food safety consumer awareness effectively with targeted communication strategies.

Consumers' Preference for the Consumption of the Fresh Black Slavonian Pig's Meat.

There are limited data on Croatian consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for fresh meat from the Black Slavonian pig. The survey was conducted on a sample of n = 410 Croatian consumers, using a hypothetical choice experiment to examine how food attributes and information treatment influence consumers' decisions regarding fresh ham meat of the Black Slavonian pig. The hypothetical choice experiment was conducted using fresh boneless pork ham with three attributes (price, colour and geographical information) as the focuses of the product. Croatian consumers were randomly assigned to one of two treatment options (control or information) in an online survey to investigate the role of information. Our results indicate that Croatian consumers have a clear preference for fresh boneless ham from the Black Slavonian pig produced in both production systems and labelled as reared in continental Croatia and with a protected designation of origin (PDO) label, compared with fresh boneless ham produced from conventionally reared pigs (intensive rearing-indoor rearing) without the label. The results show that the information given to consumers about the production system, meat colour and geographical information positively influenced consumer choice. Appropriate labelling and information about the product can positively influence consumers' preferences, which indicates the importance of highlighting the traditional characteristics (production system, darker colour of the meat and production area) of fresh meat from Black Slavonian pig on the label in promotional activities.

Sensory Perception and Willingness to Pay for a Local Ancient Pear Variety: Evidence from In-Store Experiments in Italy.

Product optimisation is one of the most crucial phases in the new product development or launch process. This work proposes applying penalty analysis to investigate the impact of not just-about-right (JAR) sensorial aspects on willingness to pay (WTP) and an overall liking for a local Italian ancient pear variety and to verify the mediating role of pleasantness in the relationship between not-JAR sensory attributes and consumers' WTP using structural equation model (SEM). One hundred and twelve non-expert participants recruited during an in-store experiment evaluated overall liking and JAR attributes and were involved in an in-field experimental auction based on the non-hypothetical Becker-DeGroot-Marshak (BDM) mechanism. The participants' average WTP for the sample was EUR 3.18 per kilogramme. Only juiciness and sourness significantly impact consumers' overall liking but not on consumers' WTP. Moreover, pleasantness did not mediate the relationship between non-balanced sensorial aspects and WTP. In conclusion, the penalty analysis for attributes not being JAR in monetary and hedonic terms is a beneficial research approach for a deep-inside evaluation of the potentiality of the product in the marketplace, providing helpful directions for product optimisation. Results show market potential for the local ancient pear variety 'Angelica'.

Review of factors affecting consumer acceptance of cultured meat.

Concerns about animal welfare and sustainable meat production are growing among consumers. The awareness of carbon emissions linked to livestock and ethical concerns have triggered interest in more sustainable meat alternatives, among which cultured meat (also known as laboratory grown meat) is a recent entry. Like any new food, the ultimate success of cultured meat depends on consumer acceptance. This study analyses the peer-reviewed literature on consumer attitudes towards cultured meat to synthesize the existing evidence and identify priorities for future research. A systematic literature review was undertaken using the Web of Science, Science Direct and Scopus databases over 2008-2020, resulting in a final number of 43 articles meeting our selection criteria. The most important factors influencing consumer acceptance/rejection of cultured meat include public awareness, perceived naturalness, and food-related risk perception. Ethical and environmental concerns prompted consumers to be willing to pay a premium price for purchasing meat substitutes, but not necessarily cultured meat. Also, food neophobia and uncertainties about safety and health seem to be important barriers to uptake of this technology. Availability of other alternatives such as plant-based meat substitutes and product features, such as price and sensory appeal, are considered determinants of consumer reception of this technology. The effect of demographic factors is mixed. More research on the interrelationships between livestock production, food security, and alternative meat products is recommended.

Why people follow a gluten-free diet? An application of health behaviour models.

PURPOSE: To understand factors affecting adherence to GFD by celiac and non-celiac people through the application of behavioural theories, Integrative Model (IM) and Multi Theory Model (MTM). METHODS: Analyses were conducted for a sample of 308 subjects, majority females, celiac and non-celiac. Adherence to GFD was measured considering two scales, self-declared adherence and scored adherence, in order to discern possible inconsistencies between what subjects believe and what they really do. Subsequently, adherence to GFD was modelled by considering constructs of MTM and IM. Moreover, the constructs were designed based on literature review. Ordered logit (OL) model was used to test the IM and MTM theoretical models. RESULTS: The findings show that adherence to GFD is affected mainly by attitudes towards GFD, self-efficacy, injunctive norms, knowledge about GFD and health conditions. Between the two models, IM and MTM, results show that all constructs of IM explain the behaviour. Contrary, for MTM, results indicate only some constructs of the MTM explain adherence to GFD. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study should be considered for improving the adherence to GFD for celiac people. Furthermore, it is important to consider the non-celiac people's perceptions for GFD and GF products. In other words an accurate information about the diet and products it is relevant for supporting people to make healthier food choices. Finally, as the results show, IM explain adherence to GFD better than MTM.

Exploring Chinese consumers' attitudes toward traceable dairy products: A focus group study.

Dairy products are an essential part of a healthy diet, and dairy is an emerging food industry in China. With rapid economic development, Chinese consumers are increasingly health-conscious and are becoming more selective about the quality and safety of dairy products. Adopting a qualitative approach, we explored Chinese consumers' perception of dairy food safety and attitudes toward traceable dairy products through 9 focus group interviews administered in 4 urban locations in North and South China, with a total of 61 participants. Results showed that a prevalence of food safety incidents triggers consumers to lower their confidence in food safety and to pay more attention to the news about food safety incidents in the media, including social media. Chemical residues ranked as the first concern for food safety in the dairy industry. Meanwhile, traceable dairy products were not well known among consumers. Although the possibility to trace back all stages of the food supply chain in the dairy sector was considered important, respondents raised doubts about the truthfulness of traceability information.

A concept mapping study on organic food consumers in Shanghai, China.

Despite some similarities with developed countries, the growth of organic market in China seems to follow a different path. Thus, important questions are how Chinese urban consumers perceive organic food, and what are the main concepts associated to the organic attribute. We aimed at representing in graphic form the network of mental associations with the organic concept. We used an adapted version of the "Brand concept mapping" method to acquire, process, and draw individual concept networks perceived by 50 organic food consumers in Shanghai. We then analyzed the data using network and cluster analysis to create aggregated maps for two distinct groups of consumers. Similarly to their peers in developed countries, Chinese consumers perceive organic food as healthy, safe and expensive. However, organic is not necessarily synonymous with natural produce in China, also due to a translation of the term that conveys the idea of a "technology advanced" product. Organic overlaps with the green food label in terms of image and positioning in the market, since they are easily associated and often confused. The two groups we identified show clear differences in the way the organic concept is associated to other concepts and features. The study provides useful information for practitioners: marketers of organic products in China should invest in communication to emphasize the differences with Green Food products and they should consider the possibility of segmenting organic consumers; Chinese policy makers should consider implementing information campaigns aimed at achieving a better understanding of the features of these quality labels among consumers. For researchers, the study confirms that the BCM method is effective and its integration with network and cluster analysis improves the interpretation of individual and aggregated maps.

Organic and conventional nonflavored yogurts from the Italian market: study on sensory profiles and consumer acceptability.

BACKGROUND: The sensory properties of food products are an important success factor, especially in the organic market, where many producers and distributors of organic food claim superior taste for their products compared to the conventional alternative. For this reason consumer expectations and preferences, as well as the sensory properties of conventional and organic yogurt, have to be investigated in depth. In this work, the sensory profiling and consumer data of six nonflavored organic and conventional Italian yogurts were elaborated. Some results on the data segmentation (heavy and light users of organic food) and on the effect of information on liking (blind and labeled test) were obtained. Multivariate analysis was carried out to study how the sensory characteristics of 'natural yogurts' drive consumer liking. RESULTS: Consumers' preferences were oriented towards a creamy mouthfeel and smooth visual appearance and for a less acid and fresh taste. In particular, a conventional yogurt was the least accepted, because it was not creamy enough. This paper shows there is room to improve unflavored yogurt to better meet consumer expectations. CONCLUSION: Sensory profiling did not allow a distinction in odor/taste/texture between organic and conventional samples. However, three of four organic samples were in the region of highest consumer acceptability, fitting well consumers' preference. There was no clear tendency that heavy or light users scored differently in the blind and labeled tests regarding overall liking but, for all, the most liked conventional yogurt scored higher when labeled as organic.