Consumer demand analysis in the Hungarian functional food market focused on the main health problems

The rising number of consumers requiring a special diet because of health issues or lifestyle decisions have opened new opportunities for food chain operators. This could designate the directions for product development of the Hungarian food industry. Since functional food products can only achieve market success if they meet the consumers’ expectations, the aim of this research was to examine those main health problems that people are most worried about and to compare the acceptance of dietary way (functional food) of preventing and/or mitigating health problems. Results are based on quantitative consumer survey

Regulation of nutrition labeling of foods in the European Union and Hungary; a historical review from the beginning to the present day

Food labeling is one of the most diverse areas of food law, and special attention is paid to nutrition labeling within this area. This is not a coincidence, as modern nutrition science is evolving year by year, and legal changes must also keep pace with this. Nutrition labeling is particularly important for those who struggle with obesity or certain metabolic diseases or have special nutritional needs for other reasons. In a somewhat unusual way, the regulation of nutrition labeling has not appeared primarily in regulations at the national level, but its development began within an international framework, with the first breakthrough being the Codex Alimentarius and the expert work carried out within it. Hungary has been participating in this work since the beginning, so the Hungarian regulation, regardless of historical periods, has been relatively harmonized with the current best labeling practices in the world, with complete harmonization taking place by the time Hungary was on the verge of joining the European Union. In this study, we look back at the most important international, EU and Hungarian steps in the development of the regulation, not only presenting legal changes, but also comparing them to the changing requirements of the various periods. In addition to the current regulatory environment and challenges for nutrition labeling, key voluntary labeling schemes are also included in this communication

Online food shopping habits in Hungary

In recent years, the market segment of internet commerce has been developing intensively in Europe [6], although in Hungary, the growth rate had been lagging behind the European average for many years. A major part of the Hungarian population has only begun to show interest in the possibility of purchasing products and services online in the past five years, however, the trend is now clear in Hungary as well. While in 2012, only 35% of Hungarian internet users conducted online shopping transactions, by 2015 this ratio had increased to 47% [1]. The change in consumer habits is most clearly indicated by the fact that the percentage of regular internet users did not significantly change over the same period, it was 69% in 2012, and 72% in 2015 [3]. By comparing the two data sets it can be concluded that the increase in willingness to shop online showed a relative growth of exceptional proportions in Hungary, when compared to other EU member states. At the same time, according to the analysis of Eurostat, in 2015, food was put in the virtual shopping basket of Hungarians in only 10% of online purchases, which is far below the EU average (18%) [1]. When evaluating the results, we have to take into consideration that, in Hungary, only a very small number of webshops have foods in their portfolio, and online shops offering foods (as well) often cover only a small geographical area. Most certainly, the market share of online food purchases is expected to grow in the future, especially because of its convenient nature. According to the forecasts, the so-called consumer individualization will also grow at the same time, which could strengthen the segment of special foods (local, handcrafted and functional foods)

Consumer attitudes in field of Hungarian red paprika

Informed decision is a key issue in consumer science that has influenced the food control regime in Europe. Ground red paprika has got some specialities that make it a unique food stuff for Hungarian consumers: an uniquely Hungarian product or Hungaricum, in other words. This also means that beyond measurable quality parameters paprika accounts for an ethical value for Hungarian consumers. Considering this, it is even more important to provide a clear definition of products on the shelves at buying situations. Indication of quality categories certainly represents a critical part of food labelling. In case of red paprika, as a spice, the Hungarian “Food Book”, Codex Alimentarius Hungaricus nominates four different quality categories. In our study we have conducted a throughout analysis of the level of consumer comprehension in regard of these categories. We found that there is a complete misunderstanding in this issue. Only two out of the four quality categories were identified by the consumers. We also recorded perplexity when we asked the respondents to organize the valid four categories in order according their quality level. As a summary, we have to conclude that conditions of informed decision making have not been met in regard of red paprika purchasing in case of most of the Hungarian consumers

Consumer perception of dual food quality based on a questionnaire survey

The dual quality of foods, i.e., the phenomenon that consumers find foods of different quality or composition in different countries under the same brand name and or with very similar packaging, has been one of the most pressing issues in the food chain in recent years. Predating the product comparative and consumer studies of the European Commission, the National Food Chain Safety Office has been investigating the issue since 2014 using several methodologies. In our article, the results of the consumer research carried out within the framework of the RCR-EFSQ CHAFEA project also supported by the EU. The issue of dual quality is given special attention in public perception. Nearly half of Hungarian consumers have noticed specific differences between foods of the same brand, available both in Western Europe and in Hungary. Three out of five respondents said that dual quality was not acceptable, and nine out of ten said that it was important for the manufacturer to inform the consumer about dual quality on the product label if there is such a phenomenon. Therefore, there is a clear need to address this issue at an official level, not only at a legal level as a result of the amendment of the directive, but also in terms of consumer information. Based on the opinion of the respondents, any differences should be clearly indicated on the packaging of the given product. The consumer opinions revealed in our research can provide guidance for the design of future product comparative studies, as well as for the consumer-friendly handling of the situation by manufacturers

Assessing the impact of the fipronil egg scandal on consumer behavior in Hungary

In addition to high pathogenicity avian influenza outbreak that started in the fall of 2016, the European poultry sector was also affected by the fipronil egg scandal that escalated quickly in August 2017. The above-mentioned incidents demanded rapid, decisive and coordinated action on the part of food chain safety authorities across Europe. Fast and continuous flow of credible information has been made possible by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Union. However, adequate authority measures alone do not guarantee the minimization of the economic damages caused by food scandals, therefore, great emphasis should be placed on risk communication as well in similar cases. The basic principles of risk communication include objectivity, timeliness and clarity [5]. This way, it is possible to avoid unreasonably high drops in consumption in cases where the real health risk is not significant, or the risk has already been eliminated by the action taken by the authorities or businesses. Changes in consumption habits were assessed by the National Food Chain Safety Office (NFCSO) in the fall of 2017 through a questionnaire survey based on personal interviews with 1,000 people. According to the results, thanks to the consistent communication activity of the authority, the confidence of Hungarian consumers in eggs and egg-containing products did not fundamentally drop, and this is of particular importance in the reduction of economic damages

Internetes élelmiszer-vásárlási szokások Magyarországon

Az elmúlt időszakban intenzíven bővült az internetes kereskedelem piaci szegmense Európában [6], bár hazánkban a növekedés üteme hosszú évekig elmaradt az európai átlagtól. A magyar lakosság csak az elmúlt 5 évben kezdett tömegesen nyitni az online termék-, illetve szolgáltatás vásárlás lehetősége felé, azonban a trend ma már hazánkban is egyértelmű. Míg 2012-ben a magyar internetfelhasználóknak csupán 35%-a bonyolított le internetes vásárlási tranzakciót, addig ez az arány 2015-re már 47%-ra emelkedett [1]. A fogyasztói szokások változását az jelzi legélesebben, hogy a rendszeres internethasználók aránya a kérdéses időszakban nem változott jelentősen, 2012-ben 69%, 2015-ben 72% volt [3]. A két adatsor összevetésével megállapítható, hogy az internetes vásárlási hajlandóság növekedése hazánkban az uniós tagállamok között kivételes mértékű relatív növekedést mutatott. Ugyanakkor az Eurostat elemzése szerint 2015-ben csak az internetes vásárlások 10%-a esetén került élelmiszer a virtuális bevásárlókosárba Magyarországon, amely messze elmarad az uniós átlagtól (18%) [1]. Az eredmények értékelésekor figyelembe kell vennünk, hogy Magyarországon jelenleg kevés webshop kínálatában szerepelnek élelmiszerek, az élelmiszert (is) kínáló online üzletek pedig gyakran csak egy szűk területet fednek le. Minden bizonnyal a jövőben számolni kell az online élelmiszervásárlás piaci részesedésének növekedésével, főként annak kényelmi jellege miatt. Előrejelzések szerint ezzel párhuzamosan fejlődni fog az úgynevezett fogyasztási individualizáció is, amely főként a különleges élelmiszerek (helyi, kézműves, funkcionális élelmiszerek) szegmensét erősítheti

Élelmiszerek tápérték jelölésének szabályozása az Európai Unióban és Magyarországon; történeti áttekintés a kezdetektől napjainkig

Az élelmiszerjelölés az élelmiszerjog egyik legszerteágazóbb területe, s ezen belül is kiemelt figyelem övezi a tápértékjelölést. Mindez nem véletlen, hiszen a modern táplálkozástudomány évről-évre fejlődik, amellyel lépést kell tartania a jogszabályok változásának is. Különösen fontos szerepet kap a tápértékjelölés azok számára, akik elhízással vagy egyes anyagcsere betegségekkel küzdenek, vagy más okok miatt különleges táplálkozási igénnyel rendelkeznek. A tápérték-jelöléssel kapcsolatos szabályozás kissé rendhagyó módon elsősorban nem a nemzeti szintű szabályozásokban jelent meg, hanem kifejezetten nemzetközi keretek között indult fejlődésnek, amelyben az első áttörést a Codex Alimentarius és az azon belül folytatott szakértői munka jelentette. Hazánk e munkában a kezdetek óta részt vesz, így a hazai szabályozás a történelmi koroktól függetlenül is viszonylagos összhangot mutatott a világ aktuális legjobb jelölési gyakorlataival, amelynek teljes harmonizációja az európai uniós csatlakozás küszöbére megtörtént. E tanulmányban visszatekintünk a szabályozás fejlődésének legfontosabb nemzetközi, európai uniós és hazai lépéseire, nem csak a jogszabályok változásait mutatjuk be, hanem össze is hasonlítjuk azokat az egyes időszakok változó követelményeivel. A tápértékjelölés jelenlegi szabályozási környezete és az aktuális kihívások mellett a legfontosabb önkéntes jelölési rendszerek is szerepet kapnak e közleményben

Searching for quality Hungarian products - the operation of the Hungarian food codex

The Hungarian Food Codex is presented in this article, and the role it plays in market regulation and the evolution of consumer awareness, and in addition to a historic overview, the cardinal aspects of its operation are also discussed. Following this, through the results of our primary research, it is shown on what basis price-sensitive Hungarian consumers give their vote of confidence to Hungarian products. In this light, we consider how changes in quality requirements might affect in the future the attitudes revealed, since it is a fundamental task of the regulations in the Hungarian Food Codex that customers regard domestically produced foods as being of excellent quality. © 2016, Hungarian National Commiteee of the European Organization for quality. All rights reserved