Factors Affecting the Extent to which Consumers Incorporate Functional Ingredients into their Diets

This study considers the factors that explain the consumption of food and beverages with functional ingredients to avert or offset health problems. We use an instrumental variables Poisson regression model to deal with the endogeneity of perceived health status in functional ingredient use. The first stage results indicate that perceived health status is associated with attitude towards functional foods, food consumption motives and information seeking and being female. The second stage results suggest that individuals who consume more functional ingredients tend to have a positive attitude towards functional foods, are novelty‐seeking, female and older. As expected, consumption of functional ingredients is more likely when consumers’ self‐reports indicate that they are aware of functional foods’ nutritional value and the link with their own health. Consistent with previous research, most of the socio‐demographics are poor predictors of functional ingredient consumption.     

Consumer Welfare and the Loss Induced by Withholding Information: The Case of BSE in Italy

The paper develops a measure of consumer welfare losses associated with withholding information about a possible link between BSE and vCJD. The Cost of Ignorance (COI) is measured by comparing the utility of the informed choice with the utility of the uninformed choice, under conditions of improved information. Unlike previous work that is largely based on a single equation demand model, the measure is obtained retrieving a cost function from a dynamic Almost Ideal Demand System. The estimated perceived loss for Italian consumers due to delayed information ranges from 12 percent to 54 percent of total meat expenditure, depending on the month assumed to embody correct beliefs about the safety level of beef.     

Consumer Behavior, Public Policy, and Country-of-Origin Labeling

Recent work by agricultural economists has failed to adequately identify why consumers desire country-of-origin labeling, a key piece of information needed to determine whether a market-failure exists. This paper brings to the attention of agricultural economists a sizable body of literature on country-of-origin effects from the marketing and business disciplines. Based on this literature, we draw a distinction between several consumer motivations for origin labels and we identify which of these is cause for public policy. We propose several research questions that require answers if the consequences of country-of-origin labeling policy are to be fully understood.     

Does Canada Need Mandatory HACCP? Evidence from the Ontario Food Processing Sector

The likelihood of the voluntary adoption of hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) among food processing firms is evaluated by exploring the perceptions of food safety managers with respect to a range of possible motivating factors including the exogenous pressure to adopt HACCP, efficacy of existing food safety controls, perception that HACCP will improve the firm's food safety controls, relative costs and benefits of HACCP implementation, impact of HACCP on business performance, and the nature of barriers to implementing HACCP. While market‐based factors exert substantial pressure on firms to adopt HACCP, many food safety managers perceive that their existing food safety controls are adequate to meet existing food safety demands. While good manufacturing practice (GMP) and traceability are considered the most efficacious food safety controls, HACCP is most often perceived to provide intangible and “incidental” benefits that are often not recognized by food safety managers a priori. An important barrier to the voluntary adoption of HACCP is the perceived questionable appropriateness of HACCP for enhancing food safety controls, while financial constraints can be an absolute barrier to implementation. The results suggest a number of potential strategies through which the implementation of HACCP might be facilitated and enhanced through cooperation and coordination between regulators and industry organizations. La probabilité que les entreprises de transformation des aliments adoptent volontairement le système HACCP (analyse des risques et maîtrise des points critiques) a étéévaluée en examinant les perceptions des gestionnaires de sécurité alimentaire envers certains facteurs de motivation possibles tels que la pression exogène, l'efficacité des moyens de contrôle existants, la perception voulant que le système HACCP améliore le contrôle de la sécurité alimentaire de l'entreprise, les coûts et les avantages relatifs de la mise en place du système, les répercussions du système sur la performance de l'entreprise et la nature des obstacles à la mise en place du système. Bien que des facteurs de marché exercent d'importantes pressions pour que les entreprises adoptent ce système, de nombreux gestionnaires de sécurité alimentaire estiment que leurs moyens de contrôle existants répondent adéquatement aux demandes actuelles de sécurité alimentaire. Bien que les bonnes pratiques de fabrication (BPF) et la traçabilité soient considérées comme les moyens de contrôle de la sécurité alimentaire les plus efficaces, le système HACCP est le plus souvent perçu comme procurant des avantages intangibles et ?accessoires? qui, souvent, ne sont pas reconnus a priori par les gestionnaires de sécurité alimentaire. La pertinence discutable perçue du système HACCP comme moyen d'améliorer le contrôle de la sécurité alimentaire constitue un important obstacle à l'adoption volontaire du système, bien que les contraintes financières peuvent être un obstacle absolu à sa mise en place. Les résultats suggèrent un certain nombre de stratégies potentielles grâce auxquelles la mise en place du système pourrait être facilitée et améliorée par la collaboration et la coordination entre les organismes de réglementation et les entreprises de l'industrie de la transformation des aliments.     

The practice of corporate social performance in minority- versus nonminority-owned small businesses

This study compares corporate social performance in terms of charitable contributions of minority-owned and nonminority-owned small businesses. In this sample, minority-owned small businesses are younger, have less full-time employees, and lower annual sales. Minority-owned small businesses donate more funds to religious organizations than nonminority-owned small businesses. When annual sales are accounted for, minority-owned businesses contribute more total dollars to all charitable organizations than nonminority-owned firms. Suggestions for future research in this area are delineated.Judith Kenner Thompson is an Assistant Professor of Business and Society at the University of New Mexico. Her work has appeared inResearch in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, Business Forum, and theJournal of Small Business Management.Jacqueline N. Hood is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of New Mexico. Her current research interests include gender issues in business, small business and entrepreneurship, and corporate social performance.     

Measuring Perceived Performance of the Food System and Consumer Food‐Related Welfare

The paper explores the use of multi‐item summated scales for the measurement of the perceived performance of the food system and of an index to measure consumer food‐related welfare. Scales are developed that encompass a range of factors that influence the welfare consumers derive from food, including food safety, convenience, ethical issues, health and nutrition, taste and cost. These scales are applied to a national sample of food consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom. On the basis of the survey results, there is evidence that the scales are both reliable and valid measures of the perceived performance of the food system in both countries. An index of consumer food‐related welfare is developed that weights the various performance measures according to respondents' measure of importance. Survey respondents judge that the food system is not performing particularly well in either country. Although more work is required on the use of summated multi‐item scales for this purpose, the results suggest that this is a potentially useful approach that provides relevant information on the impact of different elements of the food system on consumer welfare.     

Food safety regulation: an overview of contemporary issues

This article discusses a number of issues that are influencing the evolution of food safety regulation in developed and, to a lesser extent, developing countries. Whilst not definitive, it aims to highlight those factors which are considered crucial to an understanding of contemporary food safety controls in both the public and private spheres. These issues include criteria applied to assess the need/justification for food safety regulation, relationships between public and private food safety control systems, alternative forms that public food safety regulation can take, strategic responses to food safety regulation, and the trade implications of national food safety controls. The article serves as an introduction to these issues, which are discussed at greater length in the other papers that make up this special issue of Food Policy.