Markets and welfare effects of food fraud

This study develops a theoretical framework of heterogeneous consumers and producers and imperfectly competitive food companies to analyse the system‐wide market and welfare effects of food fraud in the form of food adulteration and mislabelling. The results show that, while the price impacts of food fraud are product‐specific with the equilibrium prices of high‐quality and low‐quality products moving in different directions, the equilibrium quantities depend on the relative magnitude of the demand and supply effects of food fraud. Regarding the welfare effects of food fraud, they are shown to be highly asymmetric across different consumers and producers. In addition to enabling the disaggregation of the welfare effects of food fraud, the explicit consideration of agent heterogeneity, asymmetries in the probability of fraud detection and the endogeneity of the producer quality choices also enables the derivation of a key result of this study; contrary to what is traditionally believed, both low‐quality and high‐quality producers can have economic incentives to commit fraud. The group that is more likely to cheat is determined by the social attitudes towards fraudulent behaviour, the enforcement policy parameters and the relative magnitude of the demand and supply effects of food fraud. A comparison of the market effects of mislabelling and food adulteration reveals that, while the equilibrium quantity of the high‐quality product is higher in the presence of mislabelling, producers are more likely to mislabel than adulterate their products.     

发展绿色食品加工产品的难点及建议

绿色食品加工,就是以绿色农、畜等产品为原料所进行的食品加工过程。发展绿色食品加工产品,对于防范风险、满足消费者需求、提升企业效益、增加农民收入等具有重要作用。而结合现阶段绿色食品加工发展实际来看,还存在质量监管体系、产品工艺水平、产品原料供应以及品牌竞争力等方面的问题。对此,本文就完善质量监管体系、提升产品加工工艺、稳定原料供应以及发挥品牌价值效应提出了相应的建议。     

Contracting Institutions,Agro‐food Trade and Product Quality

The agro‐food sector has experienced a profound transformation of contractual arrangements along the value chain, coinciding with important technological innovations and product quality upgrading. Our understanding of the impact that this transformation has had on trade flows in the agricultural sector is very limited. In particular, we have limited knowledge about the extent to which the patterns in agro‐food trade have been driven by the quality of contractual institutions. Using existing measures which capture the sensitivity of agro‐food products to contractual imperfections, we show that countries with better contract enforcement specialise in the production of food which requires higher level of relationship‐specific investments. We also find that countries with better contracting institutions and producing contract‐intensive goods specialise in exporting high quality foods. In addition, we show that the quality of contracting institutions might importantly affect the process of product quality upgrading.     

Consumer Quality Perception in Traditional Food: Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Abstract

The paper aims to classify the quality cues and attributes of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, an Italian traditional food cheese, exploring if they affect consumers’ quality perceptions and expectations. Analysis is based on a questionnaire administered in hypermarkets where grated Parmigiano Reggiano is sold. A factor analysis, using varimax rotation, and a cluster analysis, were performed, using the Stata 12 software package. The clusters used were: geographical origin and packaging (cluster 1); price, brand and quality certification (cluster 2); all sensory attributes (cluster 3); and a combination of sensory attributes with price, brand, and quality certification (cluster 4). This is the first study to examine the quality cues and attributes affecting quality perception and expectations of cheese for grated Parmigiano Reggiano from a consumer perspective. It is also the first to classify cheese attributes following a quality approach, encompassing previously studied sensory and other attributes.     

Domestically produced food: Consumer perceptions of origin, safety and the issue of trust

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the public to attempt to assess risks using traditional methods such as smell, taste or other physical attributes of food. The existence of extrinsic cues such as the country of origin (COO) of food can help to make food purchase decisions easier for consumers. However, the use of extrinsic cues depends heavily on the extent to which consumers trust such signals to be indicative of quality or safety, which in turn depends on the credibility behind that cue. This paper aims to examine consumers association of domestically produced food with increased food safety standards and the association of COO and food safety information with socio-demographics and other aspects of consumer psychology such as attitudes, risk perception and trust. Using an ordered probit model, domestic production is examined as an extrinsic cue for food safety by looking at the relationship with trust in food safety information provided by national food standards agencies (NFSAs) and other socio-demographic characteristics, based on nationally representative data from 2725 face-to-face interviews across five European countries. Results suggest that domestic production of food is an extrinsic cue for food safety and as consumers place increasing importance on food safety they are more interested in food produced in their own country. This, coupled with consumer trust in a strong, and independent national food standards agency, suggests the potential exists for the increased consumption of domestically produced foods.     

Changing food consumption patterns in rural and urban Vietnam: Implications for a future food supply system

Rapid income growth and urbanisation could significantly change the composition of the food basket in many emerging economies. This study estimates a demand system, including 15 major food items in Vietnam, with multiyear household survey data. We find a large variation in the estimated price elasticities (–0.05 to –0.88) and expenditure elasticities (–0.16 to 2.56). Food types, urban status and income groups can explain this variation. We also find that the staple food, rice, is already an inferior good for rich urban households in Vietnam. Moreover, food preferences are evolving away from rice but towards animal proteins (fish, pork, chicken, eggs and milk), fruits and vegetables, irrespective of urban status and income groups. As the Vietnam economy continues to grow with a doubling of gross domestic product (GDP) in the next decade, per capita rice consumption in both urban and rural areas and across different income groups will continue to decline, whereas demand for other high‐value products will rise. Thus, government policy should focus on encouraging demand‐oriented food production. In addition, crop diversification at the farm level needs to improve substantially to meet the rising demand for these food products due to income growth and urbanisation.     

顾客感知质量对顾客在线粘性的影响

在发展木质家具O2O网站的背景下,以ABC态度模型为基础,实证分析顾客感知质量对顾客在线粘性的影响,以及顾客信任在二者之间的中介作用。结果表明:顾客感知质量对顾客在线粘性具有显著正向影响,其中感知产品质量的影响程度最强,感知服务质量的影响程度最弱;顾客信任在顾客感知质量与顾客在线粘性之间起部分中介作用,其中顾客信任对感知系统质量的中介影响程度最强。因此,为提升顾客对木质家具O2O网站的在线粘性,企业应加强木质家具O2O网站的安全、在线评价与信用建设;利用VR、AR及云计算等新技术加强木质家具O2O网站家具实感体验;设立木质家具O2O网站专属的家具论坛;提升木质家具O2O网站客服及售后的服务质量。     

Online Survey Data Quality and Its Implication for Willingness‐to‐Pay: A Cross‐Country Comparison

Using online surveys to elicit consumer preference is gaining popularity because of several advantages offered by this method. Past research mainly focuses on the comparison between online surveys and other survey modes. Few have explored methods of using online survey tools to improve data quality for consumer willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) estimates. This article determines the impact of using a validation question (VQ) approach that asked survey respondents to select a particular answer on improving online survey data quality across six countries. Results show that survey data quality is a common problem in online surveys across countries and the severity of this problem differs significantly. Using VQs might detect the respondents who are less careful in answering survey questions, thus providing less reliable answers. The econometric models for respondents who correctly answer VQs (pass VQs) perform significantly better than the models for respondents who incorrectly answer VQs (fail VQs). The WTP estimates for respondents who pass and fail VQs differ significantly; and in general the WTP estimates for respondents passing VQs have smaller variances than those for all respondents and for respondents failing VQs.     

Perceptions of “Organic” Food: A View Through Brand Theory

Globally, the organic food industry has experienced impressive growth rates, especially in the United States and Europe, yet still accounts for a relatively small portion of total food sales. In the United States, it constitutes less than 5% percent of food sales despite a decade of support by the U.S. National Organic Standard. Using the United States as a context, the authors show through survey data and confirmatory factor analysis that when “organic” is examined through the lens of brand theory, it is clear that it has yet to attain brand equity. There is evidence of brand awareness and perceived quality, suggesting that the industry has moved in the right direction. Yet negative perceptions of value and no evidence of brand loyalty undermine the industry’s goals. Because “organic” carries different significance to different consumers, the industry will have to develop a cohesive strategy to reestablish “organic” in a unified way. For country markets of similar experience with organic food, and for markets just beginning to consider consumer interest in organic food, these lessons from the United States offer guidance for policy and marketing strategy.     

Buying Motives and Trust of Young Consumers for Functional Fermented Dairy Products: Evidence From Croatian Students

The goal of the present study was to determine consumption of functional fermented dairy products among Croatian students, their buying motives, and trust in functional characteristics of such products. Data were collected by means of an online survey with 300 university students in two major Croatian cities. Even though more than half of the respondents were not familiar with the term “functional food,” after it was explained, it turned out that the majority consumes functional fermented dairy products. The main reason for choosing such products is prevention of diseases, followed by positive impact of low-fat content on body weight. Respondents moderately trust in health effects and in producers’ labels regarding functional properties of functional fermented dairy products. Heavier consumers of fermented dairy products and those placing high importance on health effects of food they consume have more trust in functional properties of these products. Results of the study could be used as a base for better communication with young consumers regarding functional fermented dairy products.     

How can trade partners be chosen when facing food scandals? China's milk scandal as a natural experiment

Using China's milk scandal as a natural experiment, this paper explores whether the countries of origin and export destinations have the same responses to the original country's food scandal. Our difference-in-difference estimation shows that the outbreak of China's milk scandal had asymmetric impacts on China's total imports (increased by 23.4%) and exports (sharply dropped by 65.8%). The results further show that China's milk scandal contributed to import increases from European and Oceanian countries. Moreover, China's milk scandal worsened exports, mainly those going to neighbouring Asian regions but increased exports to Oceania. A product quality index is constructed to explain this finding. Intuitively, consumers' perceived quality of Chinese products declined, and they tended to consume products from other countries. The lower the product quality was with those in China, the lower the perceived quality and safety, thereby affecting demand. During the scandal, Chinese consumers tended to buy high-quality dairy products from Europe and Oceania rather than the perceived unreliable dairy products produced by China or neighbouring countries. We conclude that product quality plays a key role in imports and exports when facing food scandals.     

中国绿色食品发展现状与发展战略

中国绿色食品产业创始于20世纪90年代初。发展至今,已经成为具有一定总量规模、产品质量稳定可靠、产业水平不断提升、品牌影响不断扩大、综合效益日益明显的新兴产业。绿色食品建立了全程标准化生产模式、质量保障模式和产业化发展模式,有效促进绿色食品事业持续健康发展。"十二五"期间,要进一步加强标准体系建设,扩大基地规模,严格产品认证,加强质量安全预警和监管,进一步发挥市场的推动作用,以此引领农产品质量安全水平的提高,保证消费安全,促进农业增效、农民增收。     

Consumers’ Response to Genetically Modified Ingredients in Processed Food in an Emerging Economy

Genetically modified (GM) foods are available in many countries including post–Soviet Union countries. However, empirical evidence on consumer acceptance for this region is scarce. In this study, we investigate consumers’ willingness to purchase a processed food containing GM ingredients. For this purpose, a consumer survey was conducted in 2015 in Tajikistan. In many aspects, our results confirm previous empirical findings showing that women are more skeptical toward GM food and a higher level of respondents’ education and the presence of minors in households are negatively correlated with their willingness to purchase a processed food containing GM ingredients. Moreover, a higher risk perception of GM food is negatively associated with the probability to purchase and consume such foods. However, our results indicate that risk perceptions of GM food seem to be relatively low in comparison to other studies with 41.5% of Tajik respondents connecting no risks with GM food. This result is surprising given the existing knowledge about post–Soviet Union consumers who are usually assumed to reject GM food due to their strong focus on naturalness.     

Consumers' Preferences Toward Attributes of Manufactured Halal Food Products

Consumers' buying decisions are invariably influenced by their religion and culture. In Islam, the foods they consume must be halal or permissible according to the Islamic principles. However, there are other food attributes such as brand, price, promotion, and safety assurance that may also influence consumers' decisions. This article aims to evaluate consumers' preferences toward various attributes of the manufactured halal food sold in supermarkets. The focus is on halal certification because consumers, especially Muslims, need the assurance that the food they purchased is really halal. Two hundred eighty-eight people agreed to participate by providing their perceptions and preferences toward food product attributes. Certified halal food product gained the highest utility score and was the most important attribute.     

You get what you pay for: the link between price and food safety in Kenya

The lack of a reliably safe food supply in developing countries imposes both health and economic costs. Food safety is one of several dimensions of food quality that are typically unobservable at the time of purchase. Branding can overcome this information problem by allowing firms to build reputations based on the quality of their products. If a reputation for food safety is valued directly by consumers, or if food safety is correlated with other valued attributes, firms producing safer food should be able to use their brand equity to charge higher prices. In addition, firms with stronger brand equity have stronger incentives to meet food safety standards in order to maintain that equity. Using data from more than 900 maize flour samples representing 23 distinct brands in eastern and central Kenya, we explore the relationship between price and contamination with aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is a fungal toxin common in maize, groundnuts, and other crops around the world. We find a strong negative correlation between price and contamination at the brand level, consistent with the hypothesized positive relationship between brand equity and food quality.     

Consumer willingness to pay for genetically modified food in Kenya

Genetically modified (GM) crops are popular in many regions of the world, but their deployment in Africa is hindered by safety concerns and regulatory issues, although the continent is in dire need of boosting its food production. Although consumers' acceptance of GM food has been analyzed in many continents, no such studies have been conducted in Africa. Therefore, a survey of 604 consumers was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2003, to gauge consumers' awareness of GM crops, their willingness to pay (WTP) for GM food, and the factors that influence their WTP. Consumers' knowledge of GM crops was limited and only 38% of the 604 respondents were aware of GM crops. People in higher education and income groups were more aware than others. Regardless, people were generally appreciative of the technology, and a large majority (68%) would be willing to buy GM maize meal at the same price as their favorite brand. Consumers were, however, concerned about possible side effects, especially on the environment and biodiversity. WTP was estimated using a double‐bounded dichotomous choice model, and the mean WTP was found to be 13.8% higher than the average price of non‐GM maize meal. Perceptions of health risk, and ethical and equity concerns had a negative influence on the likelihood of purchasing GM maize meal, whereas trust in government to ensure food quality had a positive influence on WTP. People with at least some secondary education and those in the high‐income category were more likely to purchase GM maize meal at the same price. The study concludes that, because awareness is still low, appropriate communications are needed to involve the consumer in the debate. Consumers' acceptance in this study was high, but the research needs to be expanded to rural areas, where most consumers live, and other survey methods need to be explored.     

Consumers’ Trust in Food Quality and Willingness to Pay More for National Parks’ Brands: Preliminary Evidence From Italy

In Italy, national parks allow the use of their brand logo and name on the labels of food products produced by firms located within the national parks. However, no empirical research has yet investigated the impact of national park brands on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors. Hence, this empirical study explores the factors that influence consumer trust in food quality and their willingness to pay premium prices for the national park brands. Results from a survey involving a sample of 227 Italian consumers suggest that women and younger consumers trust more and are more willing to pay for national park brands. The origin of food products associated with national parks, naturalness of foods, food quality certifications and branding, and the environment in which the packaged foods originate influence consumer confidence and buying behavior. Implications for food marketers and policymakers are discussed.     

Consumer Attitudes Towards Convenience Food Usage: Exploring the Case of São Paulo,Brazil

Abstract

The goal of the present study is to assess the impact of attitudinal and sociodemographic variables and resources restriction (time, effort and income) on convenience food usage, mediated by customer convenience orientation. The study was conducted in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. 1391 participants completed an online questionnaire designed to evaluate convenience food usage, attitudinal and sociodemographic variables. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling by blockwise comparison technique. The results showed that convenience food usage was directly affected by convenience orientation towards the meal planning, kitchen setup and cleaning up stages, and was driven by time and budget perception, both directly and indirectly (as mediated by convenience orientation). Health consciousness and cooking enjoyment showed a negative impact on the usage of these products. The convenience food market in Brazil has a large growth potential, especially if new products take into consideration palatability and nutritional quality.     

信任对城市居民有机食品消费行为的影响机理分析

[目的]揭示不同信任水平消费者在有机食品消费行为上的差异及其内在逻辑,从而为有效破解有机食品市场提供新的思路。[方法]文章以价值感知和食品安全意识为中介调节变量,构建信任影响消费行为的分析框架,并基于全国1 113位城市居民的微观调查数据,采用Ologit模型进行实证检验。[结果]信任水平正向影响居民有机食品消费行为和价值感知,价值感知在信任对消费行为的影响中发挥中介效应;同时,居民食品安全意识在信任与价值感知之间起调节作用,从而价值感知对信任与消费行为之间关系的中介效应也会受到食品安全意识的调节,即产生了被调节的中介效应。[结论]信任是决定消费者有机食品消费行为的重要因素,信任缺失会限制消费者的购买行为。利用有效的信号揭示和传递机制能缓解市场信息不对称,增进消费者信任,从而促进有机食品消费市场发展。与消费者信任相比,价值感知是影响消费者购买行为的更为直接的因素,不同消费者信任水平导致的购买行为的差异,在一定程度上是通过影响消费者价值感知实现的。因此,提供差别化的产品与服务、加强消费者的良性社交互动,普及和传播食品安全知识,有效提升消费者的价值感知水平和食品安全意识,都有利于有机食品市场培育。     

Covid-19-tested food labels

While the transmission of virus SARS-CoV-2 via food is rare, some Chinese food retailers are considering a Covid-19-tested food label. However, how consumers may support such a label is unknown. We quantify Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for food carrying a Covid-19-tested label using an online choice experiment. We find that the WTPs for such a label are always positive for all food products considered. The amount of WTP depends on the entities authenticating the labels, country of origin of the food, and consumers’ socio-demographic status. Contrary to expectation, the knowledge on Covid-19 does not affect consumer preferences for the Covid-19-tested food labels. Our benefit and cost analysis suggests a possible large benefit of creating and administering a Covid-19-tested food label. This study provides insights for policymakers, global food manufacturers, and retailers to create marketing strategies to alleviate consumer food safety concerns associated with Covid-19.