Deliverable 5.2 Study report on consumer motivations and behaviours for fruits and fruit products in the Balkans

It is unclear whether fruit consumption in Western Balkan countries (WBC) meets recommended levels from a health perspective. A better understanding consumers' perception of health and motives and barriers of fruit is necessary to get insight in the fruit consumption. The aim of WP 5 is therefore to explore, analyze and understand perceptions, motivations and barriers of consumers in WBC towards fruit and fruit products and their nutritional balance. In this WP 5 the focus is on consumption of fruit in everyday life, which means that fresh fruit as well as dried and processed fruit are studied

The Well-being Questionnaire: evidence for a three-factor structure with 12 items (W-BQ12).

Background. The Well-being Questionnaire (W-BQ) has been designed to measure psychological well-being in people with a chronic somatic illness and is recommended by the World Health Organization for widespread use. However, studies into the factor structure of this instrument are still limited and their findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of the Dutch version of the W-BQ. Methods. A cross-validation design was used. A total of 1472 people with diabetes completed the W-BQ and were randomly assigned to group A or B. In group A (N = 736), exploratory factor analyses were conducted. Group B (N = 736) was split up into four subgroups of male or female patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In these subgroups, confirmatory factor analyses were employed to test the model(s) developed in group A and the two models described in the literature (four-factor model with 22 items and a three-factor model with 12 items). Results. Exploratory factor analyses yielded a three-factor model with 21 items (negative well-being, energy and positive well-being). In the subgroups of group B confirmatory factor analyses only accepted the three-factor model with 12 items. This factor solution was stable across gender, type of diabetes and level of education. Conclusions. The best description of the factor structure of the Dutch translation of the W-BQ was given by a three-factor solution with 12 items (W-BQ12), measuring positive well-being (four items), negative well-being (four items) and energy (four items)

The development of a single-item Food Choice Questionnaire

Based on the multi-item Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) originally developed by Steptoe and colleagues (1995), the current study developed a single-item FCQ that provides an acceptable balance between practical needs and psychometric concerns. Studies 1 (N = 1851) and 2 (2a (N = 3290), 2b (N = 4723), 2c (N = 270)) showed that the single-item FCQ scale has good convergent and discriminant validity. Generally, the results showed the highest correlations with the related multi-item dimensions (>0.40). Study 2 refined the scale. Only the items for convenience (Study 2a), sensory appeal (Study 2b) and mood (Study 2c) needed to be revised (as Study 1 showed a correlation between the multi-item and the single-item below the threshold of 0.60). The results also showed comparable predictive validity. Both methods revealed similar association patterns between food motives and consumption behaviours (Fisher's z tests revealed agreements of 86.2% for Study 1, 92.9% for Study 2a and 100% for Studies 2b and 2c). Study 3 (N = 6062) showed an example of the added value of a context-specific application for the single-item FCQ. Different motives were shown to be relevant across contexts, and the context-specific motives had additional explained variance beyond the general multi-item FCQ. Studies 2b and 3 also showed the performance of the single-item FCQ in an international context. In sum, the results indicate that the single-item FCQ can be used as a flexible and short substitute for the multi-item FCQ. The study also discusses the conditions that should be considered when using the single-item scale

De Agrofoodmonitor: Maatschappelijke waardering van de Agro & Food sector

Deze Agrofoodmonitor beoogt de maatschappelijke waardering van de Agro & Food sector te definiëren, meetbaar te maken en aangrijpingspunten te identificeren die de waardering kunnen beïnvloeden. De aanleiding voor de agrofoodmonitor is de wens van de Agro & Food sector haar 'licence to operate' in Nederland te borgen en om duurzaam te groeien. Maatschappelijke waardering door burgers (consu-menten) is hiervoor een belangrijke voorwaarde. In deze monitor is maatschappelijke waardering gedefini-eerd als 'een houding tegenover de Agro & Food sector die positief of negatief kan zijn, en gebaseerd kan zijn op beredeneerde afwegingen en gevoelens'. Maatschappelijke waardering is een complex en dynamisch proces. Deze eerste meting van de Agro-foodmonitor is daarom ook een zoektocht naar de wijze waarop maatschappelijke waardering tot stand komt. Daarbij zijn ook onzekerheden, dilemma's en nieuwe vragen komen bovendrijven. Allereerst is een literatuurstudie uitgevoerd naar factoren die maatschappelijke waardering kunnen ver-klaren. Dit heeft geleid tot de ontwikkeling van een conceptueel model waarmee maatschappelijke waarde-ring kan worden geanalyseerd. Dit model is vervolgens vertaald in een vragenlijst waarmee maatschap-pelijke waardering en mogelijke verklarende factoren kunnen worden gemeten. De vragenlijst is voor-gelegd aan een representatieve steekproef van 3.290 respondenten. Omdat er tussen de agro-sectoren verschillen kunnen zijn in maatschappelijke waardering, evenals in factoren die bepalend zijn voor die maat-schappelijke waardering, is niet alleen de maatschappelijke waardering van de Agro & Food sector in zijn geheel gemeten, maar ook die van de afzonderlijke subsectoren: melkveehouderij, akkerbouw, tuinbouw, varkenshouderij, pluimveehouderij, supermarkten en voedingsmiddelenindustrie. Naast de kwantitatieve meting heeft er ook een kwalitatieve reflectie plaatsgevonden. Deze reflectie gaat dieper in op de thema's ambivalentie en strategische onwetendheid, omdat we vermoeden dat deze maatschappelijke waardering beïnvloeden. Deze reflectie is beschreven in het deelrapport Ambivalentie en strategische onwetendheid rond vlees

De Agrifoodmonitor 2014 : hoe burgers de Agri & Food sector waarderen

In dit rapport wordt de maatschappelijke waardering van de Agri & Food sector en zijn subsectoren gemeten. Ook wordt in kaart gebracht of de waardering van de Agri & Food sector is veranderd ten opzichte van 2012. Ten slotte wordt inzicht gegeven in de factoren die maatschappelijke waardering beïnvloeden en of deze factoren stabiel zijn over de tijd

Vegetable chains in Kenya: Production and consumption of vegetables in the Nairobi metropolis

Vegetable consumption in African countries such as Kenya is low, which has a negative impact on the nutritional condition of the population, and on the production by smallholders. The goals of the project were to determine the potentials for consumption and cultivation in the Nairobi metropolitan region, to analyse the reasons for low consumption and to define strategies to stimulate consumption and production. Vegetable consumption can be increased, especially during the dry season when availability is low, and for low-income groups. Production can be increased through technical interventions and improvement of skills. Important is to improve the leverage of producers in the value chain and the efficiency of the value chain. Key elements are: stimulate urban farming; reduce the cost price throughout the value chain and make the value chain more transparent, accountable, shorter with less transaction costs; reduce post-harvest losses, develop a revenue system that better rewards farmers; improve cold storage and logistics, improve irrigation in the dry season; offer dry-season solutions through food processing; and pay attention to a number of life-style issues. The Netherlands can contribute in the fields of re-structuring the value chain, brokering between parties, food processing, consumer behaviour, production and product quality (irrigation, quality seeds, crop management), and R&D

Consumenten over de geschiktheid en betrouwbaarheid van informatiebronnen

Consumers are familiar with animal-friendly and environmentally-friendly products, but cannot always find them on shop shelves. Consumers respond differently to the information provided. Five groups of consumers have been distinguished on the basis of the extent to which people intend to use a particular source of information in their search for more knowledge about environmentally-friendly and animal-friendly food products, namely: (1) large-scale users, (2) selective users, (3) dynamic users, (4) convenience users, and (5) social users. The large-scale users and the selective users are the groups most receptive to encouragement to purchase environmentally-friendly and animal-friendly products. The dynamic users are expected to keep pace with the growth in supply. Renowned organisations such as the Consumentenbond (Consumers’ Association) and the Voedingscentrum (Netherlands Nutrition Centre) are preferred sources of information for the consumer, including with regard to matters such as animal welfare and the environment. However, the most reliable sources of information are considered to be the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Beter Leven (Better Life) quality mark. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation itself is also considered an important and reliable body. The media is seen as an important source of information, probably due to its role as 'nit-picker'. Cooperation with Dierenbescherming (Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals) within the context of the Beter Leven quality mark can be of overriding importance for companies. The government could reinforce reliability by means of an independent guarantee. The Voedingscentrum and the Consumentenbond could present initiatives by Dierenbescherming (for instance) in a clear manner and make a significant contribution to the further distribution of information on animal welfare and the environmentally-friendliness of products

Food System Innovations for Healthier Diets in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Malnutrition in all its forms is a major challenge everywhere in the world, and particularly in low and middle income countries. To reduce malnutrition, innovations in food systems are needed to both provide sufficient options for consumers to obtain diets with adequate nutritional value, and to help consumers make conscious and unconscious choices to choose healthier diets. A potential solution to this challenge is food systems innovations designed to lead to healthier diets. In this paper, we lay out a multidisciplinary framework for both identifying and analyzing innovations in food systems that can lead to improvements in the choices available to consumers and their diets from a health perspective. The framework identifies entry points for the design of potential food systems innovations, highlighting potential synergies, feedback, and tradeoffs within the food system. The paper concludes by providing examples of potential innovations and describes future research that can be developed to support the role of food systems in providing healthier diets