A comparison and evaluation of research methods used in consumer food safety studies

Worldwide incidence of food‐borne disease has increased in recent years and data suggest that inadequate food‐handling behaviour in the domestic environment may be an important factor. As a consequence of this, research into aspects of consumer food safety has been undertaken, especially in the UK and USA. The overall aims of conducting such research have been to investigate aspects of consumer food safety behaviour and to utilize information in the development of effective food safety education initiatives. In the past 25 years, 87 consumer food safety studies have been undertaken using different research methodologies; 75% utilized survey techniques (questionnaires and interviews), 17% were based on direct observation, and 8% utilized focus groups. The advantages and disadvantages of the different research methods used are discussed. Similarly, different forms of reliability and validity have been considered in the context of each research method used. A comparison of results from consumer food safety studies has shown that use of different research designs and approaches has resulted in differences in the findings about consumer food safety behaviour. Survey responses have provided a more optimistic portrayal of consumer food safety behaviour than data obtained from focus groups and direct observation. Although consumers have demonstrated knowledge, positive attitudes and intentions to implement safe practices, substantially larger proportions of consumers have been observed to implement frequent malpractices. This suggests that observational data provide the most reliable information denoting consumers’ actual food safety behaviour and should be used preferentially with risk‐based data for the design of communication strategies.     

基于食品安全的信任机制研究

民以食为天,食品安全问题一直以来都是国家及国民十分关注的问题。而近年来,食品安全问题十分严重,消费者对食品市场信心不足,食用安全食品的诉求逐年提升。基于此,对食品安全的信任机制进行研究分析。     

Orthorexia Nervosa: Can Healthy Eating Food Trends Impact Food Companies Marketing Strategies?

The purpose of this article is to explore foods companies’ knowledge of food trends and assess how orthorexia nervosa may affect food companies’ marketing decisions. Data was gathered through a multiple case-study approach, and four semi-structured interviews to CEOs/CMOs of food companies from four distinct non-competing sectors of the food industry. The results show that although marketing managers are conscious of the existence of consumer behavior changes regarding food habits, they are not particularly concerned neither interested in micro-segments as they are not profitable. Despite the deficiencies on CMOs’ knowledge of particular food trends they declare to be attentive to the changes in consumer behavior and prepared to respond to competitors moves. This research adds to the existing knowledge on the food industry since it is the first study to explore the impact of food trends on food companies’ management marketing decisions from the company point of view.     

Corporate Fault and Consumer Protection: A New Approach for the UK

Many of the prosecutions for consumer protection offences which take place in the UK are against corporations, in particular, limited companies. As the criminal law had originally developed with human defendants in mind, many of its concepts were inappropriate where the defendant was a corporation. Corporations have, it is sometimes said, "no soul to be damned and no body to be kicked." As a result of industrialisation and the rise of the corporation in everyday life, legal principles had to be developed to deal with this new form of legal person. It began to be recognised that as well as having the ability to own property, enter contracts and the like, corporations were also capable of committing criminal offences.The purpose of this article is to examine the ways in which a corporation can be convicted of committing consumer protection offences under UK law. This is a topic which has received considerable attention in recent years, and is one which continues to undergo change. In particular, the article will consider the implications of a number of important recent decisions on corporate liability, and will consider their implications for those concerned with the enforcement of consumer law. It will be argued that the recent case law suggests that a new approach has emerged, but that the extent and implications of this approach, although potentially highly significant, are still not entirely clear.     

Estimating Consumer Preferences for Value-Added Fish Products in Oman

Abstract

The European meat industry is confronted with substantial changes of consumer preferences in relation to the type and quantity of meat in everyday diet. One of the main reasons behind these changes is the public impression that meat is a “dangerous” to consume food. This feeling is the result of recent food scares where meat played a central role and their effect on consumers' perceptions about meat safety. The research at hand explores the market potential of organic meat in Greece and emphasizes the perceptions about meat consumption held by organic consumers as opposed to those held by non-consumers of organic foods. It is expected that organic consumers will be more interested in a series of quality attributes of meat commonly found in its organic type, in comparison to non-consumers of organic food. However, the main finding of the survey is that consumer demands in relation to meat quality and safety are particularly high, irrespective of meat's production method. The research concludes that the particularly low consumption of organic meat in Greece should be partially attributed to its insufficient differentiation in consumers' minds.     

Evaluation of food labelling usefulness for consumers

Food labelling is a means of communication between food business operators and consumers, representing an important factor in consumer purchasing decisions. The enforcement of the new food labelling policy is aimed to improve food safety and public health through the mandatory indication of information and nutritional values. To understand the usefulness of the information provided for consumers, a survey was carried out to assess the efficacy of the information presented in food labelling. Principal component analysis was performed to obtain a smaller number of uncorrelated factors regarding the usefulness of food labelling. Results showed consumers usually do not read food labels due to lack of time and excessive information. Additionally, food labelling was observed to be more useful for specific consumer groups, such as, athletes, consumers with health conditions or consumers concerned with a healthy lifestyle. The results of the present study highlight the need of information campaigns by public health authorities to show the importance and advantages of reading food labels as well as the development of essential information which should be quickly and clearly seen and understood by consumers.     

新疆食品包装行业的发展现状与问题分析

食品包装是食品商品的重要组成部分,由于与食品直接接触,不安全的食品包装中的有害物质可能迁移至食品中或与食品成分发生化学反应,引发食品安全问题。虽然我国早已建立有关食品包装的卫生标准,但是食品包装安全问题始终未能引起全社会的广泛关注。近几年,随着消费者安全意识的提高和国家监管力度的加强,食品包装被逐步提高到了和食品安全一样的高度。通过走访企业、座谈询问、查阅资料,样品检验分析的方式对新疆地区的部分大型食品企业、食品相关企业及市场销售的食品使用包装进行了调研,了解到了当地市场食品包装质量情况,食品企业使用包装的质量状况,新疆食品包装企业普遍存在的行业安全及发展制约问题,并针对问题提出了建议和意见,为后期行政审批改革背景下的食品相关产品监管体系的完善奠定基础。     

契约选择与食品的安全供给:基于交易成本的视角

食品生产供应链中,各个阶段、各交易节点之间的契约模式选择在交易成本的约束下,最终会对食品的质量安全水平产生影响。本文以交易成本的三个维度为研究视角,从理论上分析了食品供应链上的交易主体在交易成本约束下的契约选择行为,进而考察其对食品安全供给的影响。研究表明:首先,专用性资产投资越多,交易契约越倾向于紧密型,有利于食品的安全供给;其次,不确定性(质量、价格等)程度越高,下游企业越倾向于生产契约形式,有利于食品的安全供给;第三,交易频率越高,交易双方对彼此的信任程度越高,企业越倾向于采取生产契约模式,有利于食品的安全供给。     

The Impact of EU Norms and Policies on Consumer Protection Enforcement in Serbia

Pursuant to its 2008 Stabilization and Association Agreement governing the process of EU integration, Serbia is obliged to align its consumer protection standards (including those related to enforcement) with those of the EU. This article considers the overall approach to enforcement of consumer law in Serbia, focussing in particular on the extent to which EU enforcement principles have been successfully exported to Serbia and whether the goals of EU consumer policy have been achieved. It argues that the incorporation of EU norms has brought fundamental changes to Serbian enforcement mechanisms at a formal level, such as in relation to mediation processes as well as the introduction of injunctions for the protection of collective consumer interests. In practice, however, the impact of this incorporation is quite limited. A number of factors that restrict the practical effectiveness of the mediation processes and injunctions required by EU law are explored in the article, including weak sanctions, excessive reliance on poorly resourced consumer organizations, absence of a business culture of compliance or a sophisticated and determined consumer protection enforcement culture sufficiently grounded in expertise, as well as an overarching political, legislative, and institutional instability. These factors also undermine the general aim of EU policy to achieve effective consumer protection enforcement in the Serbian context.     

Farming down the drain: Unintended consequences of the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Rule on small and very small farms

The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA) was the first significant reform in 70 years of the food production regulations governing the safety of human and animal foods produced for consumption in the United States. FSMA intended to provide policies that proactively prevent foodborne illnesses, establish science-based food safety standards, and include supply chain partners to ensure systematic prevention of foodborne illnesses. Yet these intentions may also drive small farms out of business, create food supply shortages, stifle food innovation, and harm the environment and consumer health. We propose that policy makers and managers consider reducing unnecessary documentation requirements, incentivizing innovative food technologies that improve food safety, improving the capacity and efficiency of testing labs, and increasing consumer awareness of food safety.     

社会责任视角的食品安全认知倾向实证研究

食品安全关系国计民生,近年来食品安全危机频发,不仅给国民的健康造成巨大伤害,也使得国民对我国食品安全失去信心。在社会责任视角下,采取实证研究的方法,分析了对食品安全认知倾向有关键性影响的因素,研究发现企业的社会责任、政府监管和媒体监督对消费者对食品安全的信心具有重大影响。因此,政府监管部门应致力于完善食品安全法律法规且要落实执行,企业应将向消费者提供安全食品为己任,新闻媒体应积极发挥舆论监督作用。     

餐饮食品安全管理体系浅析

食品安全直接关系民生问题,但是近年来餐饮行业频频发生食物中毒事件早已引起了各级政府和消费群众的高度重视。本文结合HACCP提出一些食品安全管理体系的相关方针。     

消费认知、政府规制与中国食品安全--一个综述及其引申

尽管影响食品安全的因素众多,但食品安全问题本质上是经济问题,仍无法脱离基本的供需矛盾。本文从有效需要的角度出发,以消费认知和政府规制为两条主线对相关前沿的研究文献进行了梳理,并将其纳入到一个基本的供需分析框架中。通过文献研究发现,频发食品安全事件是粗放型经济增长的阶段性产物,而消费认知的偏误以及政府规制的合理程度对食品安全市场的有效供给具有很强的引导作用。食品安全治理中的政策制定与制度安排不能仅着眼于对供给的约束,如何提振有效需求则更有利于监管资源的优化和规制效果。对于中国食品安全问题的研究目前仍主要停留在一种概述性、工具性的研究阶段或某一领域的经验性研究,关于食品安全经济的内在价值和深度机理性研究还十分缺乏。     

Factors Affecting Food Label Complexity: Does the New EU Regulation Satisfy Consumer Issues? An Exploratory Study

There is still a substantial information asymmetry between producers and consumers. Despite the recent EU regulation on labeling to enhance consumer food safety and the existence of a number of certifications on sustainable food products, there remain blind spots in the widely debated consumer information issue. Our study, conducted on primary data processed with a probit model, was aimed at identifying the factors that may affect consumer response in relation to difficulties in interpreting the labels of processed food products. Starting from theoretical models, several factors held responsible for defining the consumer’s knowledge were used as explanatory variables. Our results show that despite changes in the new legislation, there remains the problem of the consumer’s lack of knowledge concerning environmental labeling and product certification.     

Sales promotion practices of consumer goods companies in an advanced developing country

In recent years, manufacturers of consumer and industrial goods as well as service firms have been increasingly thinking in global terms and paying more attention to sales promotion in their overall promotional programmes and strategies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumer sales promotion practices of consumer goods producing companies in the advanced developing country of Turkey. It was discovered that sales promotion activities are gaining importance in overall promotional practices of Turkish companies, though there are differences in its use by type of industry, size of company, area of business and locus of decision-making within the firm. Furthermore, differences were detected between companies using sales promotions versus other forms of promotional techniques such as mass media advertising, personal selling and publicity. Study findings may be applicable to other developing countries that are at a similar level of socio-economic, market and technological development as Turkey.     

Organic as a Heuristic Cue: What Spanish Consumers Mean by Organic Foods

One of the strategies employed by companies to differentiate themselves from others, in the food market, has been to market organic products according to the assumption that environmental values are an important influence on people's behavior. However, studies of the behavior of organic food consumers show that there is some debate on this subject. Although some studies associate organic food consumption with motives and attitudes in which the environment plays a predominant role, a greater number conclude that the motives for consuming this type of food are basically egoistic (related to health, food safety, or the quality or flavor of the food). This can lead to problems in deciding the central thrust of the marketing strategy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the meaning and interpretations placed on the term “organic,” and how they are integrated, as a way to explain consumption behavior. Qualitative research methods were adopted for this purpose. Four focus group sessions with different sociodemographic profiles, held in the cities of Madrid and Seville, in Spain, displayed two evident paradoxes, which could indicate that environmental motives are not important for consumers in this market. It is concluded that the term “organic” plays an important role as a heuristic cue to superiority, irrespective of the consumer's knowledge about the real features of organic food. Three alternative models are presented to explain consumer behavior. These results could be useful to food companies, largely in connection with positioning this type of product and with their communications policy.     

The Cause Cue Effect: Cause‐Related Marketing and Consumer Health Perceptions

Many for‐profit companies (e.g., Kraft, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Keebler, 5‐Hour Energy) are partnering with health‐oriented nonprofits (e.g., Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Susan G. Komen for Breast Cancer Research, American Red Cross) to make purchase‐contingent donations. Companies use cause‐related marketing to improve brand image and goodwill for their food products and companies. Prior research has examined how food‐related cues can create consumer misperceptions; however, consumer perceptions related to corporate communications (e.g., the use of cause cues) has received little research attention. This research explores consumer reactions to cause cues and finds that adding a health cause to a food package significantly increases product health perceptions, and, usually, product attitude, and purchase intentions (i.e., the cause cue effect) in both a student sample (Studies 1 and 2) and an adult sample on Amazon's mTurk (Study 3). Implications for cueing and inference‐making literature, and for consumer health, and policymakers are discussed.     

Product standardisation in the food service industry: post-purchase attitudes and repurchase intentions of non-Muslims after consuming halal food

In order to satisfy the Muslim market segment, many restaurant and fast food companies in Western countries have standardised their products by switching to halal. The purpose of this research is to discover the extent to which non-Muslim consumers in non-Muslim countries experience cognitive dissonance when they think about restaurants and fast food outlets having likely served them halal-produced food, and the extent to which these consumers intend to repurchase halal food. Data came from a total sample of 1097 non-Muslim consumers in Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom. The full model, with religious identity, ethnic identification and interest in animal welfare as antecedents of cognitive dissonance, explained 35% of the variance in consumers’ repurchase intentions. Our findings suggest that many non-Muslims do not have a particular issue with consuming halal food, but they may react negatively if they unintentionally consume halal food and perceive that they have been deprived of information, or worse still, deliberately deceived. The research makes a number of contributions to marketing knowledge with regard to the negative spillover effects that can result from faith-based product standardisation, and the influences of consumer interest in animal welfare and deprivation of product information on consumer behaviour.     

色谱质谱技术在消费品安全检测中的应用进展

随着REACH、RoHS等各类法规的持续出台及人们对消费品安全问题的不断重视,日用消费品中有毒有害物质检测成为近年来分析化学的研究热点。本文以邻苯二甲酸类增塑剂、有机锡类化合物为例,回顾了色谱质谱技术在消费品（如纺织品、电子电气产品、涂料、木制品等）安全检测中的应用情况,并对未来的研究方向做了初步展望。     

产业环境、监管力度与我国食品企业的诚信选择——基于激励相容约束的分析

食品企业的诚信状况决定着食品安全的水平。由于食品信任品的属性、食品产业链的交互性以及食品的行业效应,对食品企业诚信的诉求也呈现出一定的迫切性与整体性。本文根据委托代理模型,建立激励相容约束,分析了食品产业环境及监管力度对食品企业诚信决策的影响。并且认为,由于我国社会诚信甄别机制缺失、食品供应链相对复杂以及监管规制的不到位,使我国诚信的食品企业缺乏市场激励,失信的食品企业得不到应有的惩罚,因而导致了当前食品企业诚信的缺失。