Spread of retailer food quality standards: an international perspective

Privately initiated food quality standards are currently important elements in the marketing of food and agricultural products. At the same time, they stand in the centre of a discussion about potential negative effects on small farmers and farmers in developing countries. This study aims at analysing the adoption of two private food standards, BRC Technical Food Standard and GlobalGAP, at an aggregated crosscountry level. The results of the econometric analysis reveal some (potential) barriers for developing countries to access this type of organisational innovation. Certificates seem to be issued more probably in larger and wealthier countries, countries with a better institutional quality, better infrastructural conditions and in former UK colonies

Multi-Product Category Choices Labeled for Ecological Footprints : Exploring Psychographics and Evolved Psychological Biases for Characterizing Latent Consumer Classes

Peer reviewe

Cross-national adoption of private food quality standards

This article examines the development of the Chinese dairy sector since 2000 and investigates how this has affected food safety. The ongoing problems caused by melamine contamination are linked to the rapid and unregulated development of this sector. Currently, China is faced with demands – both from home and abroad – to improve its food safety record. This will necessitate it upgrades its regulatory framework to meet the standards of Codex Alimentarius and the EU. A serious restructuring of the dairy sector as well as of the public food safety control agencies is called for. The costs and benefits to be accrued by these reforms are the subject of this article

Cross-national adoption of private food quality standards

This article examines the development of the Chinese dairy sector since 2000 and investigates how this has affected food safety. The ongoing problems caused by melamine contamination are linked to the rapid and unregulated development of this sector. Currently, China is faced with demands – both from home and abroad – to improve its food safety record. This will necessitate it upgrades its regulatory framework to meet the standards of Codex Alimentarius and the EU. A serious restructuring of the dairy sector as well as of the public food safety control agencies is called for. The costs and benefits to be accrued by these reforms are the subject of this article

Spread of retailer food quality standards; A transition countries perspective

Privately initiated food quality standards are becoming increasingly important elements in the marketing of food and agricultural products in Western Europe. At the same time, they are at the centre of a discussion about the potential negative effects on small farmers and farmers in developing and transition countries in general. This study analyses the adoption of two private food standards, the BRC Food Technical Standard and GlobalGAP, at an aggregated cross-country level. The results of the econometric analysis reveal some (potential) barriers for developing and transition countries in accessing this type of organizational innovation. Certificates seem more likely to be issued in countries that are larger and wealthier, which have better institutional arrangements and better infrastructural conditions, and which are former UK colonie

The role of emotions in fast food choices of young adults

One of the reasons of higher calorie intake in younger adults is the consumption of food away from home. Emotions have been identified as an important factor influencing food consumption in this age group. A survey and an experiment have been developed to test if there exists the effect of emotions on the amount of calories ordered on an order terminal of a fast food restaurant. Results demonstrate that for the whole sample, none of the factors indicating emotions is significant. For underweight individuals, negative emotions led to an increase in calories ordered. For overweight participants, negative emotions led to a decrease in calories ordered. For the participants in the normal weight group, neither positive nor negative emotions played a significant role in the choice of food options. For overweight individuals order assistant and highlighting choices were most effective method of on-screen communications. We conclude that emotions play an important role in fast food choices of young adults, which is moderated by BMI in a way that negative emotions lead to an increase in calories ordered by underweight participants, while this is the opposite for overweight participants. Acknowledgement : This project was funded by the BMBF

Can the new label make a difference? Comparing consumer attention towards the current versus proposed Nutrition Facts panel.

Recently FDA proposed a new Nutrition Facts panel. In this study, we analyze whether the proposed changes to the Nutrition Facts panel have the potential to increase consumers’ attention. In doing so, we account for involvement and familiarity as determinants of attention. In order to measure attention we conducted a laboratory experiment using eye tracking with two treatments testing differences in consumer attention towards the current and the proposed Nutrition Facts panel. Our findings highlight empirical evidence regarding the separate and joint effect of involvement with the Nutrition Facts panel and product familiarity on consumers’ visual attention. Our results suggest that the proposed new format of the Nutrition Facts panel has a significant positive effect on consumers’ attention. The proposed label leads low-involvement or less-familiar consumers to attend longer to the Nutrition Facts panel. Our findings are important for policy makers and the food industry more generally in providing critical information regarding the outcomes of a revision of the Nutrition Facts panel

Supplementary Material for: Global Obesity Study on Drivers for Weight Reduction Strategies

<b><i>Objective: </i></b>To assess factors determining the reaction of individuals to the threats of overweight and obesity and to examine the interdependencies between weight-reducing strategies. <b><i>Methods: </i></b>Cross-country survey covering 19 countries and 13,155 interviews. Data were analysed using a bivariate probit model that allows simultaneously analysing two weight-reducing strategies. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Results show that weight-reducing strategies chosen are not independent from each other. Findings also reveal that different strategies are chosen by different population segments. Women are more likely to change their dietary patterns and less likely to become physically active after surpassing a weight threshold. In addition, the probability of a dietary change in case of overweight differs considerably between countries. The study also reveals that attitudes are an important factor for the strategy choice. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> It is vital for public health policies to understand determinants of citizens' engagement in weight reduction strategies once a certain threshold is reached. Thus, results can support the design of public health campaigns and programmes that aim to change community or national health behaviour trends taking into account, e.g., national differences