A preliminary comparison of the retail level effects of genetically modified food labelling policies in Canada and France

Most developed countries have adopted labelling policies for genetically modified (GM) food. In April 2004, Canada implemented a voluntary labelling policy for GM and non-GM food, while France adopted the European Union’s new extended mandatory labelling of GM food. I present the result of a qualitative survey of GM and non-GM food labels in supermarkets in Canada and France, five months after the introduction of the new policies. I find that there are almost no GM labelled products in France and non-GM labelled products in Canada. Each policy tends to crowd out the targeted label attribute. However, Canadian consumers can choose between GM and non-GM organic products, whereas there are only non-GM products in French supermarkets. Recent political developments in Quebec suggest that the labelling landscape may change in Canada, either with an increase in the number of non-GM products at the retail level or a transition towards a mandatory labelling policy like in France.     

Consumers’ willingness-to-pay for food safety labels in an emerging market: The case of fresh produce in Thailand

Food safety systems in emerging markets are currently facing a transformation period, becoming more stringent because of an increasing demand for safer food. Consequently, policy makers need to find strategies to increase food safety while giving the industry time to improve their performance. In Thailand, policy makers have adopted the strategy of upgrading food safety standards gradually. Government and private food safety brands and labels were introduced onto the market but little is known whether Thai consumers have preferences for them or not. This study is aimed at evaluating Thai consumers’ preferences for food safety labels and brands on fresh produce, using a surveyed based on discrete-choice experiments. A sample of 350 Thai consumers was surveyed in Bangkok and Nonthaburi in 2013. Quota sampling according to the shopping outlets and convenience sampling methods were adopted. Two hundred respondents were recruited at fresh-food markets and 150 respondents were recruited at supermarkets. We found that consumers are willing-to-pay more for both government led food safety label and private brands, but that there is high heterogeneity in their preferences. The high degree of social desirability for food safety labels confirms that food safety labelling policy should be supported. However, the provision of information and credibility are vital in order to mitigate the risk of consumer deception by self-claimed labels.     

Chinese consumer demand for food safety attributes in milk products

Little is known about emerging demands for food safety among consumers in developing countries. This study presents results of an investigation of consumer awareness, willingness to pay, and price premiums for milk products manufactured using Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) management, a quality management system used to reduce food safety risks. Chinese food processors initially sought HACCP certification to access export markets, but now HACCP is rapidly being adopted for domestic products and HACCP logos have begun to appear on labels in China. A survey of Beijing consumers found that less than one in five respondents was aware of HACCP, and most who had heard of HACCP had learned about it within the previous year. After receiving information on HACCP nearly all respondents were willing to pay a modest price premium for HACCP-certified products. Products with HACCP labels in Beijing supermarkets sold at a price premium of about 5% over products without such labels, holding other product attributes constant. The results indicate that demand for food safety is emerging as an attribute demanded by Chinese consumers.     

Impact of genetic modification on country image of imported food products in European markets: Perceptions of channel members

Risk to the image of food exporting countries in foreign markets for food products has been advanced as a reason for them to ban commercial release of genetically modified (GM) crops. The aim of this paper is to explore the reality and intensity of such a risk. In-depth interviews have been conducted with key distributors in the European food sector to ascertain factors that they consider important in determining reputation of exporting countries, and to ascertain whether GM impacts on such reputations. Highly negative consumer sentiment towards GM in Europe seems likely to continue to influence food industry buyers against importing GM food. However, no evidence was found that presence of GM crops in a country causes negative perception of non-GM food imported from that country. Provided adequate steps are taken to avoid accidental contamination of conventional crops, producer countries do not appear at great risk of damaging their overall country image for food products if GM technology is introduced.     

Factors underlying support or opposition to biotechnology among Australian food consumers and implications for retailer-led food regulation

Despite current findings that consumers, on average, have negative attitudes to biotechnologies such as cloning and genetic engineering, considerable variability can be found in the direction and strength of these attitudes. This paper presents a path analysis of attitudinal, motivational, demographic and behavioural variables that influence consumer dispositions towards biotechnology. Among these variables, those found to be most important were: consumers’ level of motivation to find natural foods; the extent to which they were motivated by convenience; whether they did the shopping for their household on a regular basis; and their sex. In terms of direct effects on dispositions to biotechnology, motivation to find natural foods had a very strong negative effect while convenience had a very strong positive effect. Sex had a moderate direct effect with women less likely to be positively disposed towards biotechnology than men. In an apparent contradiction, taking responsibility for household shopping had an equally strong positive effect on both naturalness and convenience. However, sex also played a crucial role here with a very strong effect on motivation to find natural foods (women more motivated), a minor effect on convenience (women less motivated) and a strong effect on responsibility for household shopping (women more likely to shop). The policy implications of these findings are important, given the apparent oppositional trends of some sections of the food industry to endorse biotechnology, and of the supermarkets to deliver ‘clean and green’ non-GM foods to consumers.     

The political ideology of food

Using data from a survey of over 700 Americans, we sought to measure and investigate the nature of citizen’s political ideologies in relation to food. Results reveal that a majority of respondents can be classified as “food statists,” desiring more government action in the realm food and agricultural relative to the status quo. People’s ideologies with regard to food were multidimensional, falling along lines related to food health and quality, food safety, and farm subsidies. Respondents were most in favor of additional government action related to food safety. Food ideology was related to conventional measures of political ideology with, for example, more liberal respondents desiring more government involvement in food than more conservative respondents, but the relationship was far from determinative, suggesting food ideology represents a unique construct in its own right.     

A consumer segmentation study with regards to genetically modified food in urban China

The objective of this study is to identify the underlying subgroups of Chinese consumers in terms of their perceptions and attitudes toward GM foods. In particular, we address the following specific questions: may researchers segment Chinese urban consumers in terms of their attitudes and perceptions toward GM foods? Are there any relationships between segmented consumer groups and other factors – such as their exposure to GM knowledge and socio-demographics? And, what policy implications can be drawn from this research to the future biotech development in China? Based on a large-scale survey data collected by the authors in 2002 and 2003 in 11 cities of China, this research applies consumer research methodologies. The combination of factor and cluster analysis enables us to identify successfully and consistently four Chinese consumer clusters based on their perceptions and attitudes toward GM foods, which include a food safety cluster, a nutritional technologist cluster, a GM skeptic cluster, and a cluster of GM for non-food promoter.     

The character of demand in mature organic food markets: Great Britain and Denmark compared

We investigate the organic food market in two selected European countries, Great Britain and Denmark, identifying main differences and similarities. We focus particularly on consumer perceptions and priorities, labelling schemes, and sales channels as a basis for assessing market stability and prospects for future growth. We employ a unique set of household panel data that includes information on stated values and concerns as well as registered purchasing behaviour. Most organic food on both markets is produced and processed by large-scale industrialised units and distributed through mainstream sales channels, consumer confidence being sustained at present by organic labelling schemes that appear to function well. However, a parallel market, based on the supply of goods through various direct sales channels to heavy users, prevails. We find that organic food purchase decisions are primarily motivated by ‘private good’ attributes such as freshness, taste and health benefits, attributes that may be perceived as being compatible with modern production and sales structure. Mature markets for organic foods nevertheless appear to be vulnerable to consumer dissatisfaction, particularly among heavy users of organic food products.     

Price dispersion and seller heterogeneity in retail food markets

Price dispersion, i.e. a homogeneous product being sold at different prices by different sellers, is among the most replicated findings in empirical economics. The paper assesses the extent and determinants of spatial price dispersion for 14 perfectly homogeneous food products in more than 400 retailers in a market characterized by the persistence of a large number of relatively small traditional food stores, alongside large supermarkets. The extent of observed price dispersion is quite high. When prices in an urban area (where the spatial concentration of sellers is higher) are compared with those in smaller towns and rural areas, differences in search costs and the potentially higher degree of competition do not yield lower prices. Other counteracting factors, including differences in seller costs and consumer incomes, make prices, on average, higher in the urban area for 11 of the 14 products considered. For many, but not all, the products supermarkets proved to be less expensive than traditional retailers, although average savings from food shopping at supermarkets were extremely low. Finally, the results of the study provide evidence that retailers have different pricing strategies and these differences also emerge for supermarkets belonging to the same chain. The results presented in the paper suggest that a variety of factors play a role in explaining price dispersion. In addition to differences in seller costs, the contemporaneous heterogeneity of retailers (in terms of services provided) and consumers (in terms of search costs and preferences) makes the emergence of monopolistic competition possible as well as allowing small traditional food retailers to remain in business.     

The role of farmer organizations in supplying supermarkets with quality food in Vietnam

The development of supermarkets in Vietnam, as in other emerging countries, is accompanied by increasing consumer concern for food quality. This paper investigates whether farmer organizations are able to help small-scale farmers obtain access to supermarkets as well as examines the role that supermarkets and public support play in the emergence and development of these organizations. The paper is based on case studies of a number of stakeholders marketing vegetables, flavored rice and litchi fruit in Vietnam. Eight farmer groups operating in the form of private commercial organizations act as regular supermarket suppliers for the selected products. Their ability to supply supermarkets is related to the combination of functions they make available to their members, especially with regard to promoting and controlling quality for which they receive public support. Their participation in flexible contracts with supermarkets, shops and schools is also a key issue. Supplying supermarkets via farmer associations increases farmers’ profits per kilo compared to traditional chains, but the quantities supplied to supermarkets remain limited. The paper argues that changes in farmer organizations are not primarily due to supplying supermarkets, but rather to public and international support for food quality improvement which has been of benefit to supermarkets.     

Impact of health-related claims on the perception of other product attributes

New EU legislation (EU Regulation 1924/2006) will allow a number of nutrition and health claims in food products. The objective of this research was to study how health claims affect consumers’ perception of other product attributes. A survey with a total of 4612 respondents from the Nordic countries explored consumers’ perceptions of attractiveness, healthiness, naturalness, tastiness and ability to reduce risk of disease by comparing ratings of products with and without health claims. Used claims varied in their benefit, active ingredient, claim structure and framing. The results showed that health claims had a moderate but mostly negative impact on the perception of other product attributes; the most significant impact was decrease in perceived naturalness. Consumers could also interpret the benefits in claims as intended. The wording of the claim had only small impact on the perception of the products, whereas earlier market presence of the ingredient had a large impact: differences among the Nordic countries reflected the previous exposure to health claims. The findings from this study suggest that consumers do not imply other health benefits from health claims and the health claim per se is not likely to cause any unrealistic positive inferences in perceived product quality.     

Industry self-regulation of food advertisement to children: Compliance versus effectiveness of the EU Pledge

This research examines the effectiveness of the EU Pledge, a self-regulation initiative of leading food companies at the European level, in restricting television advertising of food and drink products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) to children. In October 2011 and 2014, television program of ten German television networks was recorded on a weekday and a weekend day. Data was analyzed using content and regression analysis. Advertised products were examined for their compliance with the nutrient criteria of the EU Pledge and the UK OFCOM nutrient profile model. The sample contains 88 h of advertising with a total of 697 child-targeted food and beverage advertising (CFBA). The results indicate that the number of CFBA broadcasted in television program declined from 2011 to 2014 for both Pledge signatory and non-signatory companies with an overall stronger reduction in children’s compared to non-children’s program. Our findings demonstrate that CFBA broadcasted in children’s program by Pledge members comply by and large with the EU Pledge nutritional criteria in 2014. However, in the same year the probability of CFBA aired by signatory companies in non-children’s program to meet the nutrient profile criteria of the EU Pledge was low. Furthermore, the majority of CFBA of signatory companies do not meet the OFCOM nutritional criteria even in the children’s program. Thus, the effectiveness of the EU Pledge in reducing children’s exposure to child-targeted advertising of HFSS foods and drinks is limited by the focus on children’s program and the relative lenient nutritional criteria agreed on by signatory companies. Based on our results we derive recommendations for industry and policy.     

Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation,understanding and use

This study investigates the relationship between consumer motivation, understanding and use of sustainability labels on food products (both environmental and ethical labels), which are increasingly appearing on food products. Data was collected by means of an online survey implemented in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Poland, with a total sample size of 4408 respondents. Respondents expressed medium high to high levels of concern with sustainability issues at the general level, but lower levels of concern in the context of concrete food product choices. Understanding of the concept of sustainability was limited, but understanding of four selected labels (Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Carbon Footprint, and Animal Welfare) was better, as some of them seem to be self-explanatory. The results indicated a low level of use, no matter whether use was measured as self-reported use of different types of information available on food labels or as use inferred from the results of a choice-based conjoint analysis. Hierarchical regression indicated that use is related to both motivation and understanding, and that both motivation, understanding and use are affected by demographic characteristics, human values as measured by the Schwartz value domains, and country differences. The results imply that sustainability labels currently do not play a major role in consumers’ food choices, and future use of these labels will depend on the extent to which consumers’ general concern about sustainability can be turned into actual behaviour.     

Consumer welfare and GM food labeling: A simulation using an adjusted Kumaraswamy distribution

Genetically modified (GM) food products and their labeling have become a major policy issue with impassioned public debates. We explore the impact of different labeling regimes on consumer attitudes towards GM products and consumer welfare. Our experimental results illustrate that these consumer attitudes do not follow the Uniform distribution as has often been assumed in the literature but instead fit an adjusted Kumaraswamy distribution. If a Uniform distribution is assumed, the advantage of mandatory labeling would be exaggerated. Using an adjusted Kumaraswamy distribution our simulation results demonstrate that voluntary labeling is superior to mandatory labeling with the higher separation cost, while mandatory labeling is not necessarily better with lower separation cost. Therefore, the governments of China and other countries with similar consumer characteristics should consider voluntary labeling for GM food while encouraging innovations that reduce the price of GM food as well as controlling the opportunistic behavior of its producers so as to enhance the advantage of voluntary labeling.     

Eating at the limits: Barriers to the emergence of social enterprise initiatives in the Australian emergency food relief sector

This article explores the absence of social enterprise responses to food insecurity in Australia. Continued growth in demand from chronically food insecure consumers and criticism of the dominant food bank model of gifted food support has led to the development of ‘community supermarkets’ that charge consumers for donated food in countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, but not in Australia. This research investigates barriers to the development of community supermarkets in Australia through in-depth interviews with senior staff within seven organizations involved in the food relief supply chain, as well as a pilot survey of 38 food insecure consumers. The results of this research are analyzed through the lens of ‘voluntary failure’ theory and highlight systemic barriers to the reach of social enterprise as a mechanism for addressing food insecurity.     

Consumer willingness to pay for redundant food labels

Previous studies, as well as market sales data, show some consumers are willing to pay a premium for redundant or superfluous food labels that carry no additional information for the informed consumer. Some advocacy groups have argued that the use of such redundant labels is misleading or unethical. To determine whether premiums for redundant labels stem from misunderstanding or other factors, this study seeks to determine whether greater knowledge of the claims - in the form of expertise in food production and scientific literacy - decreases willingness to pay for redundant labels. We also explore whether de-biasing information influences consumers’ valuations of redundant labels. An online survey of 1122 U.S. consumers elicited preferences for three redundantly labeled products: non-GMO sea salt, gluten-free orange juice, and no-hormone-added chicken breast. Respondents with farm experience report lower premiums for non-GMO salt and no-hormone-added chicken. Those with higher scientific literacy state lower premiums for gluten-free orange juice. However, after providing information about the redundancy of the claims, less than half of respondents who were initially willing to pay extra for the label are convinced otherwise. Over 30% of respondents counter-intuitively increase their premiums, behavior that is associated with less a priori scientific knowledge. The likelihood of “overpricing” redundant labels is associated with willingness-to-pay premiums for organic food, suggesting at least some of the premium for organic is a result of misinformation.     

Assessing consumer willingness to pay for Arctic food products

The food industry increasingly seeks to differentiate food products based on sustainability assurances, the use of traditional or ‘authentic’ production methods, a unique origin, or an association with a distinct cultural identity, often relying on certification to enhance the credibility of a quality claim. The natural conditions of the Arctic circumpolar region, its pristine environment, and the relational tie to Indigenous cultures in many circumpolar Arctic nations, distinguish Arctic foods from other commercially available foods, however, little is known about how consumers respond to foods from the Arctic. This paper examines consumers’ perceptions of and willingness to pay (WTP) for foods originating from the Canadian Arctic, and their receptivity to certification for sustainability, authenticity, and origin in the presence of multiple credence attributes. Data from an online survey of 1342 Canadian consumers show that preferences for Arctic foods are driven by the unique geographic origin and a connection with Indigenous cultures and traditions, as well as a desire to improve social and economic conditions in northern Canada. A discrete choice experiment featuring Arctic char elicits consumers’ WTP for attributes related to origin, certification, wild vs farmed fish, and Indigenous vs non-Indigenous fishers. Random parameters logit and generalized mixed logit models allow for both preference and scale heterogeneity. The analysis informs strategies to promote the Arctic food system, both from a Canadian regional economic development context and across the broader Arctic circumpolar region. Limitations imposed by the current seafood labelling regulatory environment in Canada are noted.     

A note on the relationship between managerial change values, innovative intentions and innovative technology outcomes in food sector firms

In this study three, two-part propositions were developed based on a general model of how organizational variables moderate the influence of individual change values on innovative intentions and how these same organizational factors moderate the impact of individual innovative intentions on organizational innovative outcomes. A total of 66 respondents, mostly top managers in food processing and food equipment and packaging firms, returned questionnaires. Results indicated that the absence of technical specialist concentration significantly (p <.05) increased the correlation between managerial change values and innovative intentions. Organization size and diversification into nonfood markets did not significantly moderate the correlation between managerial change values and innovative intentions although results were in the predicted direction. Managerial innovative intentions were significantly (p <.05) more likely to be correlated with the rate of new products introduction, and the rate of adoption of incremental process innovation when technical specialists were concentrated. Managerial innovative intentions were significantly (p <.05) more likely to be correlated with the rate of new production introduction and the adoption of radical (new to the industry) process innovation in firms that had diversified into nonfood markets. Critical incident accounts by respondents of creative or innovative episodes in their organizations are strongly correlated with indicators of slack resources for innovation, and the skills managers develop to identify and back innovators in their firms are discussed.