Fresh Produce Safety and Good Agricultural Practices: Stakeholders' Perception and Consumers' Choice in Thailand

Concerns of Thai consumers on food safety have been recently increasing, especially in urban areas and for fresh produce because food safety scandals, such as chemical residues on fresh produce (e.g., cabbage) still frequently occur. The Thai government tried to meet consumer needs by imposing in the domestic market a stronger regulation aimed at increasing the baseline level of food safety assurance and by introducing a voluntary standard (based on Good Agricultural Practices or GAPs and known as Q-GAP) and the related food safety label (i.e., Q mark). However, since standards and regulations are weakly implemented in the domestic market compared to exported products, there is still a lack of Thai consumers’ confidence in the safety of local food products. In this work the current situation of GAPs adoption in Thai fresh produce production is analysed. Furthermore, it is studied whether Thai consumers place value on food safety labels available on the market, to know whether consumer demand could drive the market of certified safer products. This study contains three essays: 1) a review of the literature, 2) a qualitative study on stakeholders' perception toward GAPs adoption and 3) a quantitative study, aimed at analysing consumers' preferences and willingness-to-pay for food safety labels on fresh produce using a discrete choice experiment. This dissertation contributes to the economics of quality assurance and labelling, specifically addressing GAPs and food safety label in the fresh produce supply chain. Results show that Q-GAP could be effectively used to improve food safety in Thai domestic market, but its credibility should be improved. Stakeholder’s awareness toward food safety issues and the delivery of reliable and sound information are crucial. Thai consumers are willing to pay a premium price for food safety labelled produce over unlabelled ones. Implications for both government and business decision-makers are discussed

Potential income gains for rural households in North Eastern Thailand through trade with organic products

The study groups households in North Eastern Thailand according their income and grade of specialisation in crop production to derive representative household types. For these household types a linear optimization model is run to calculate net incomes under four scenarios. These are certified organic farming, organic farming in the initial and transitional phase and a self-sufficient farming. Simulations for the different management scenarios show that per ha cash profits are about double under certification while they can only be increased by 30 percent under self-sufficient farming, even under favourable assumptions. But transition costs to organic farming are high due to reduced yields at the beginning. According to the figures and model used, only under certified organic production it pays to hire non household workers. Labour hence is a major limiting factor.organic agriculture, Thailand, household income, Consumer/Household Economics, International Relations/Trade,

Strategies to Promote Healthy Eating Among University Students: A Qualitative Study Using the Nominal Group Technique

Introduction: The years spent at university are critical in terms of altering people’s dietary patterns. This study aimed to: (1) understand the main dietary changes that students experience after starting university; (2) determine the personal and objective factors that hinder healthy eating, and (3) define possible strategies to facilitate healthier diets among university students. Methods: The nominal group technique (NGT) was used to elicit ideas from 39 students from the University of Parma, Italy. The sample comprised 16 freshmen and 23 non-freshmen. Participants prioritized and weighed their top five ideas regarding dietary changes, barriers to healthy eating, and possible strategies to maintain a healthy diet. A thematic analysis was conducted to compare the priorities across groups. Results: Forty-three themes were elected as the most significant changes related to diet, 39 themes related to personal barriers, 43 themes related to objective barriers, and 55 themes related to strategies. A lack of time for cooking, low financial availability, consumption of unvaried food or junk food, and gaining knowledge about food were identified as the main changes. Personal barriers to eating healthy were intrinsic (i.e., lack of willpower, personal gluttony, and little effort in cooking preparation), poor dietary information, and a busy lifestyle.Market and financial factors (i.e., the high price of healthy products and low financial availability), as well as social factors (i.e., the negative influence of social networks, childhood food education, and origin/tradition), emerged as objective barriers. Possible strategies that could encourage students to adopt a healthy diet include varying the food products offered in university canteens, including organizing spaces where students who prepare meals from home can warm up and eat their food. Student discounts at supermarkets and information on nutrition and a healthy diet were also identified as important ways of supporting students. Conclusion and Implication for Practice: In order to make students part of the solution, the NGT provided them with the opportunity to equally contribute their ideas and opinions about having a healthy diet in a university context. This could potentially lead to tailor-made solutions for policymakers, educators, and foodservice providers in promoting healthy eating habits

Effect of multimedia interventions on children’s fruit and vegetable consumption in a real-life setting

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of a food-inspired multimedia intervention on children’s fruits and vegetables (F&V) consumption in a real-life setting during lunch. Design Children in an elementary school in Bologna (Italy) in third, fourth and fifth grade, aged between 9 and 12 years old, were examined (N = 171). Two different types of messages (generic and specific) were used to test message-tailoring in two separate intervention groups and one control group. The two intervention groups (classes) were presented with multimedia messages during an English lesson before lunchtime, and their eating behavior during lunch at school was observed. All children were served the first and second course, vegetables and fruit during lunchtime. Data was analyzed with R 3.4.2. Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis and ANOVA tests were used to test for group differences, ordered logistic regression for modelling fruit and vegetable consumption. Findings The results show that children receiving a specific message targeting F&V consumed more fruit than the other two study groups. No effect on vegetable consumption was observed. Results from an ordered logit model support the notion that the multimedia message impacted fruit intake in the specific message group when taking other variables into account, such as F&V consumption and availability at home and children’s attitude toward F&V. Originality While many studies have considered a group of intervention for understanding the effect of multimedia, this study is focused only on the effect of a message (generic or specific). Moreover, participants, children, were not informed that they were participating in a study on fruit and vegetables consumption, and thus were following their daily routine

A Path Model of the Intention to Adopt Variable Rate Irrigation in Northeast Italy

Irrigated agriculture determines large blue water withdrawals, and it is considered a key intervention area to reach sustainable development objectives. Precision agriculture technologies have the potential to mitigate water resource depletion that often characterises conventional agricultural approaches. This study investigates the factors influencing farmers\u2019 intentions to adopt variable rate irrigation (VRI) technology. The Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM-3) was employed as a theoretical framework to design a survey to identify the factors influencing farmers\u2019 decision-making process when adopting VRI. Data were gathered through quantitative face-to-face interviews with a sample of 138 fruit and grapevine producers from the Northeast of Italy (Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia). Data were analysed using partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM). The results highlight that personal attitudes, such as perceived usefulness and subjective norm, positively influence the intention to adopt VRI. Additionally, the perceived ease of use positively affects intention, but it is moderated by subject experience

Attitudes and preferences of Kosovar consumers towards quality and origin of meat

Quality and safety are important attributes for consumers in developed and transitional countries such as Kosovo. This study aims to examine Kosovar consumers’ characteristics, attitude and preferences towards meat as well as to provide meat consumer profiling using a descriptive analysis together with the Food-Related Lifestyle approach. We drew a sample of 300 Kosovar consumers by means of intercept sampling in Prishtina, Prizren and Gjilan. Results suggest that Kosovar consumers perceive country of origin (COO), especially domestic origin, as an indicator of quality and safety for meat. Two consumer profiles were identified through segmentation analysis: conservative and innovative food consumers. The innovative food consumer is the most interesting target segment for Kosovar meat. There is potentially a market for meat products bearing food safety and origin labels. Therefore, private operators could consider the use of safety certification labels to signal to consumers that their products are safer than common products. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of our findings for businesses and policy makers regarding domestic meat promotion strategies

Intention and behavior toward eating whole grain pasta on a college dining campus: Theory of Planned Behavior and message framing

The consumption of whole grains has several health benefits, however, most US consumers – including young adults – do not meet the recommended consumption intake. To understand the underlying factors affecting the intention and consumption of whole grain pasta, a survey based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was developed and administered to US college students. The effects of message interventions on the TPB measures and other variables were also examined. Participants (n = 325) received different messages on the health benefits of whole grain in the forms of gain- (treatment 1) or loss-framed (treatment 2) for four weeks, or did not receive any message (control). We evaluated variables at two time points: Time 1 (when the first message was received, week 0) and Time 2 (one month after the intervention, week 4). The results suggested that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were positively associated with intention, and intention can accurately predict young adults' behavior. The framing did not affect the TPB variables

Organic Food Marketing in Asia: a value chain perspective

Over the last three decades, the organic agro-food system in Asia has transformed from the early development stage to one of the most promising markets in the world. Initially from the attempt to apply the organic concepts to sustain agriculture, rural, and social development, nowadays, the increasing demands for organic food from the region and the industrialized countries is the main driver for organic farming movement in Asia. Due to the diversified characteristics and levels of economic development of Asian countries, the Asian organic food market is heterogeneous as it hosts a wide range of organic sector development scenarios, from early development to highly regulated. Japan is the third largest organic consumption market after the EU and the US while China and India are the main organic food producers in the world

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 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