Communicating food quality to consumers

This study examines the role of cues on food packaging in consumers' prediction of product quality. Ten empty pork sausage packs (ingredients panel removed) and 10 corresponding ingredients lists were ranked in order of expected eating quality of the sausages. Five pork sausages were evaluated and rated for liking. Subjects, who up to this point had been unaware that packs, ingredients lists and the sausages themselves were related, then discussed their responses. Frozen sausages were expected to be of poorer quality than fresh ones. Packaging had a major effect on subjects' expectations of product quality. Brand name was the strongest factor in determining expectations of the quality of a product. Subjects were sensitive to issues related to food safety, such as likely pack integrity, presence of beef in pork sausage and presence of additives. Graphics and colour schemes also played an important role: perceived careless design of packaging suggested a similarly carelessly designed product. Health claims and quality marks and claims influenced expectations and were generally taken on trust. Study of the ingredients panels raised suspicions about quality where ingredients lists were ‘too long' and where there were items that subjects either did not know or did not think appropriate. The product for which the highest level of sensory enjoyment had been predicted, and which had a considerably higher meat content than any of the other sausages, did not fulfil subjects' expectations of eating quality. It failed on appearance, flavour and texture.     

The Distribution of Household Health Expenditures in Australia*

Out‐of‐pocket health expenditures in Australia are high in international comparisons and have been growing at a faster rate than most other health costs in recent years. This raises concerns about the extent to which out‐of‐pocket costs have constrained access to health services for low income households. Using data from the ABS Household Expenditure Survey 2003–2004, we model the relationships between health expenditure shares and equivalised total expenditure for categories of out‐of‐pocket health expenditures and analyse the extent of protection given by concession cards. To allow for flexibility in the relationship we adopt Yatchew's semi‐parametric estimation technique. This is the first detailed distributional analysis of household health expenditures in Australia. We find mixed evidence for the protection health concession cards give against high out‐of‐pocket health expenditures. Despite higher levels of subsidy, households with concession cards do not have lower out‐of‐pocket expenditures than non‐cardholder households except for the highest expenditure quintile. Cards provide most protection for GP out‐of‐pocket expenditures.