Consumer preferences before and after a food safety scare: An experimental analysis of the 2010 egg recall

In August 2010, more than half a billion eggs were recalled in the U.S. because of a Salmonella outbreak. This study examines the effect of the recall with a unique pair of auction experiments investigating willingness to pay (WTP) for conventional and organic eggs, one conducted shortly before and one right after the recall with the same participants. In addition to the before and after bids, participants bid again after a negative information or balanced information treatment about the event. Accompanying surveys showed consumers had a high level of awareness of the recall but less knowledge of specific details, and viewed information on egg farm conditions as very important in their WTP. While there were no significant before and after differences, WTP for organic eggs significantly increased in the negative information treatment, and balanced information had a positive effect on consumer WTP for conventional eggs.     

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.     

Food industry structure in Norway and Denmark since the 1990s: Path dependency and institutional trajectories in Nordic food markets

Structural changes in Norwegian and Danish food industry since the 1990s is analysed as a path dependent response to the neo-liberal turn. Norway entered the 1990s as a protected market and Denmark as case of an export oriented industry. These developmental strategies are rooted in early 20th century industrialisation and influenced by institutional transformations in the 1990s, such as EU and WTO. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are studied in the context of changing political environments. Explaining two different trajectories, we combine path dependency theories and a Polanyi inspired ‘varieties of capitalism’ framework with corporate strategy theories on food industry M&As. We identify two different types of path dependent development, a self-reinforcing in Denmark and a transformative ‘breaking point’ in Norway.     

Review: Food loss and waste in Sub-Saharan Africa

The research, development practitioner, and donor community has begun to focus on food loss and waste – often referred to as post-harvest losses (PHL) – in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article reviews the current state of the literature on PHL mitigation. First, we identify explicitly the varied objectives underlying efforts to reduce PHL levels. Second, we summarize the estimated magnitudes of losses, evaluate the methodologies used to generate those estimates, and explore the dearth of thoughtful assessment around “optimal” PHL levels. Third, we synthesize and critique the impact evaluation literature around on-farm and off-farm interventions expected to deliver PHL reduction. Fourth, we suggest a suite of other approaches to advancing these same objectives, some of which may prove more cost-effective. Finally, we conclude with a summary of main points.     

Food environments in Malta: Associations with store size and area-level deprivation

Food environments are potential targets for interventions to reduce obesity prevalence, particularly in island settings that are typically dependent on food imports. This observational study aimed to characterise the availability, quality and price of foods and beverages in a nationally representative sample of grocery stores in Malta using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS-S) instrument, and to examine the association between area-level density of different types of food stores and the likelihood of children living in these areas being overweight or obese. Fieldwork was carried out between March and May 2014. There was a strong positive correlation between store size and NEMS-S score (p = <0.001), suggesting that smaller grocery stores generally offered a smaller range of products and fewer healthy food/beverage options than larger supermarkets. Across all stores, median prices of certain ‘healthier’ versions of foods were more expensive than their less healthy alternatives. A significant association between risk of childhood overweight, and density of confectionery stores in children’s locality of residence, was found (OR 1.19; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.37). These baseline findings highlight opportunities to improve the food environment in Malta to support more healthful eating, and may be of particular interest to public health practitioners in island settings.     

Household history,SNAP participation,and food insecurity

Food security in an important public policy issue. In 2015, approximately 1 in 8 U.S. households experienced food insecurity at some point in the year. Low-income families are at higher risk for food insecurity than other families, and these families may also face higher levels of disruption (e.g., moves, loss of income, or individuals entering or leaving the household) than other families. I use data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to explore the relationship between food insecurity, the household’s history during the previous year, and SNAP participation. The results indicate that a number of aspects of the household’s recent experience including negative income shocks, moves, and both increases and decreases in household size increase the probability of being food insecure while SNAP participation is estimated to reduce the probability of being food insecure.     

Food counts. Measuring food consumption and expenditures in household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCES). Introduction to the special issue

This introductory paper presents the results of an international multi-disciplinary research project on the measurement of food consumption in national household surveys. Food consumption data from household surveys are possibly the single most important source of information on poverty, food security, and nutrition outcomes at national, sub-national and household level, and contribute building blocks to global efforts to monitor progress towards the major international development goals.The paper synthesizes case studies from a diverse set of developing and OECD countries, looking at some of the main outstanding research issues as identified by a recent international assessment of 100 existing national household surveys (Smith et al., 2014). The project mobilized expertise from different disciplines (statistics, economics, food security, nutrition) to work towards enhancing our understanding of how to improve the quality and availability of food consumption and expenditure data, while making them more valuable for a diverse set of users. The individual studies summarized in this paper analyze, both theoretically and empirically, how different surveys design options affect the quality of the data being collected and, in turn, the implications for statistical inference and policy analysis.The conclusions and recommendations derived from this collection of studies will be instrumental in advancing the methodological agenda for the collection of household level food data, and will provide national statistical offices and survey practitioners worldwide with practical insights for survey design, while providing poverty, food and nutrition policymakers with greater understanding of these issues, as well as improved tools for and better guidance in policy formulation.     

Monetary policy and food inflation in South Africa: A quantile regression analysis

Although optimal monetary policy stabilizes food inflation theoretically, empirical studies remain limited not only in the context of volumes and the estimation approaches, but are focused on selected advanced and emerging countries to the neglect of Africa where poverty and dominance of food in the consumption basket are more pronounced. We provide empirical evidence in the context of South Africa using quantile regressions. Rising food prices are destabilized even further by restrictive monetary policy; a finding that has ramifications for inflation targeting, especially given that a quarter of the country’s population is food poor.     

Food insecurity,gender, and international migration in low- and middle-income countries

The determinants of migration have been widely studied but research has rarely addressed the roles of food insecurity and gender in the migration decision process. To address these gaps, we examine these relationships for 135,078 individuals across 94 low- and middle-income countries. We use a series of binary-choice models with sample selection and data from the 2014–2015 waves of the Gallup World Poll Survey, which includes the first global measure of individual-level food insecurity. Results, which are robust, indicate that food insecurity is an important determinant of both migration intentions and preparations, and the probability of migration intentions increase monotonically with the severity of food insecurity, and the probability of migration preparations decrease. These relationships also differ significantly by gender and level of gross national income. Evidence suggests a need for increased coordination between the international food security and migration policy agendas.     

Assessing the effect of food retail subsidies on the price of food in remote Indigenous communities in Canada

The Canadian government currently subsidizes food retailers in the 25 remote communities in Nunavut through the Nutrition North Canada program. The program expects each dollar of the food subsidy to be fully passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices. Unfortunately, existing audits and reviews of the program have failed to determine the pass-through rate of the subsidy. Using regression analysis on food price data in each of the 25 communities, subsidy rates, and covariates that control for community characteristics, we overcome the limitations of past research and provide the first-ever estimate of the pass-through rate of Nutrition North in Nunavut. Our results suggest that most, if not all, of the subsidy is passed on to the consumer in lower food prices.