Main constraints in developing public organic procurement

The present study investigates how to increase and improve school catering supply chains, to understand hindering factors and their perception in order to reveal drivers and constraints for POP. These include policy implementation instruments, changed values and attitudes, healthy nutrition policies, supply chain bottle necks, premium prices (to producers), successful procurement strategies and certification procedures. This work is based on a two-step survey concerning the Italian school food service system. Initially questionnaires were submitted to a qualified group of 50 producers and 50 caterers (managers of national and international companies of food service for school, local administrators who manage food services for the schools). The results of the questionnaires have subsequently been the basis to plan in-depth interviews with few decision makers who could represent both caterers and producers. The aim of this second step being to view how identified problems could be solved. The results show how the understanding and the acceptance of the organic food concept among the catering staff is crucial for the degree of success in each step of public organic procurement. The introduction of organic food in serving outlets needs appropriate support (such as qualification of key actors and a specific financial support). Other key aspects in this regard are laws and regulations promoting the procurement of quality food, policy interventions tackling more than one aspect of the problem, education programs, calls for tenders, negotiated procurement contracts and quality standards

Sapore, Freschezza e Contenuto in nutrienti Informazioni per i consumatori sui Controllo di Qualità e Sicurezza nelle Filiere di Produzione Biologica

Questo opuscolo rappresenta una piccola guida pratica per i consumatori e descrive ciò che è fatto per assicurare la qualità ed il sapore di 7 alimenti biologici, che cosa è migliorabile e cosa possono fare i consumatori per migliorare e conservare la qualità degli alimenti dopo l’acquisto. Altri opuscoli per i consumatori si occupano dell' autenticità o frode, della salubrità o contaminazione mentre opuscoli separati sono indirizzati ai dettaglianti ed ai produttori di specifici alimenti

Organising supply chains of organic products for Italian school meals - The case of the province and of the city of Piacenza

The paper is part of the proceedings of an iPOPY seminar. The authors describe, how supply chains of organic school food might be organised in a sustainable way in order to serve high quality food to pupils. They present a best practice case of controlled food chains (filiera controllata) from Italy, the European champion of organic school food. From the province and the city of Piacenza in the region of Emilia-Romagna, we can learn a lot about a short and certified organic food-chain, a wide range of regional and organic products provided through a shared logistic organisation among local partners, and specific tender procedures

WAYS OF IMPLICATING MORE ACTIVELY FOR THE CONSUMERS’ ASSOCIATIONS IN PROMOTING AND DEFENDING CONSUMERS’ RIGHTS

It is well known that in the European Union the good functioning of the market is conditioned by the development of an active consumers’ policy which can be facilitated by the consumers’ associations that should have a permanent dialogue with the public authorities and the firms in order to identify the main problems in connection with whom there is a wide consensus. Also, the communitary strategy concerning the consumers’ policy between 2002-2006 has established among its medium term objectives the one of implicating more actively for the consumers’ organizations in promoting the policy of protecting consumers’ rights and interests. Taking this into consideration, among the major objectives of the consumers’ protection policy and strategy in the Romanian society (accomplishing an effective protection of life, health and security, protecting the economic interests, information and education, facilitating the access in the justice and forming the specialists in the consumers’ protection field) there is also the objective concerning the supporting of the foundation and development of the consumers’ associations and consulting them in the process of decision taking. A real approach of the problems concerning the consumers’ associations is not possible without the involvement of the consumers’ protection, in a more active way, in promoting and protecting the consumers’ rights. Only in this way they can contribute substantially to the improvement of the Romanian economic climate and to the faster integration in the European Single Market.Consumers’ associations; Consumer protection; Active consumer policy.

Salubrità e Contaminazione Informazioni per i consumatori sui Controllo di Qualità e Sicurezza nelle Filiere di Produzione Biologica

Questo opuscolo rappresenta una piccola guida pratica per i consumatori e descrive ciò che è fatto per assicurare la salubrità e la pulizia di 7 alimenti biologici, che cosa è migliorabile e cosa possono fare i consumatori a supporto degli sforzi fatti per conservare la sicurezza degli alimenti dopo l’acquisto. Altri opuscoli per i consumatori si occupano dell’autenticità o frode, della freschezza e contenuto in nutrienti, mentre opuscoli separati sono indirizzati ai dettaglianti ed ai produttori di specifici alimenti

The Impact of Social Capital on the Implicit Price Paid by the Italian Consumer for Fair Trade Coffee

Consumers in developed countries are increasingly interested in the consumption of food products incorporating ethical aspects, particularly fair trade products. These products are usually distributed in a network of World Shops and, more recently, in supermarkets and shopping centres. The fair trade product with the highest market share is coffee. This study aims to ascertain the implicit price paid by Italian consumers for the fair trade content of coffee and how this implicit price is influenced by the level of social capital of the territory where consumers live. The data utilised are scanner data, based on the purchase at supermarkets and shopping centres observed from 2005 to 2007, referred to a territorial unit that is the province. Since scanner data are used, the analysis can allow for the coffee attributes described by the labels: branded, organic, decaffeinated, fair trade, espresso, and so on. The approach followed is the application of an hedonic regression where the dependant variable is the coffee price while the regressors are coffee characteristics (fair trade content and coffee other attributes) and several indicators of provincial social capital, alternatively included.hedonic price, coffee, fair trade, scanner data, Italian consumers, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, C50, D12, L66, Z13,

The importance of reverse logistics for retail activity

Reverse logistics (RL) refers to a set of programs or competencies aimed at moving products in the reverse direction in the supply chain (i.e., from consumer to producer). It entails more than the mere re-use of containers and the recycling of packaging materials. It is the process of moving a product from the point of consumption to another point for the purpose of recapturing the remaining value, or for the eventual proper disposal of the product. The state of development of RL is analogous to that of inbound logistics between 10 and 20 years ago. The scope of RL has, since, expanded from service parts management to include other areas and has attracted significant attention of a great majority of companies. The reverse logistics process can generate periodic negative cash flows that are difficult to predict and account for, but are important when managing retailer liquidity. Uncertainties surrounding reverse logistics create the possibility that the retailer may be strained in meeting short-run financial obligations or opportunities.reverse logistics, retail activity, product recovery, network design, liquidity

The ‘corporate’ corruption of identity in Tullio Avoledo’s Lo stato dell’ Unione

Since the political upheavals of the early 1990s, Italian writers have continually confronted issues of political identity, particularly in view of the fascistic tendencies that are increasingly polluting society. It is in this context that Tullio Avoledo, a writer from Friuli, continues the strong Italian tradition of impegno, or ‘commitment’. This essay examines his third novel, Lo stato dell’unione (Turin, Einaudi, 2005), addressing specifically the two closely-linked, destabilizing – for the individual – elements of corruption and conspiracy in the business world

Successful brands or key to any company's success

“Some consumers would walk a mile just to find Camel cigarettes and would wait in line for hours to buy a Swatch. Others are attached to their cars or motorcycles, while teenagers spend hours and hours talking about hip clothing brands” (Schroeder & Salzer-Morling, 2006). The subsequent question is: are these people victims of manipulation, publicity or are they simply people who love symbols? Chevalier and Mazzalovo (2004) claim that a brand does not represent manipulation, that consumers choose certain brands as they see them as the best on the market.brand, marketing, global brands’ value, consumers