The value of local Italian supply chain of the large wild ungulates meat: the case of the red deer meat in Alpine valleys

Currently in Italy, in contrast to other EU countries, a supply chain for hunted game meat does not exist. Nevertheless there are the conditions for its development (Gaviglio et al., 2017); in fact game meat dishes’ has always been part of Alpine area’s culinary tradition and furthermore, management measures aimed at reducing the overpopulation of large wild ungulates leaded to an increase in the availability of their meat.In this context, the present research aims at analyze the dynamics of the value in the local non-existent supply chain of the large wild game meat by the application on the case study of the Valle Ossola (Piedmont, Italy). Due to its representativeness among Italian wild ungulates, the research focus on red deer meat.The data has been collected in 2016 through in-depth interviews and focus groups with the stakeholders involved in the supply chain: hunters, transformers and restaurateurs.Results show that for the hunter the red deer reach a hypothetical price of 6,00 €/kg. From a meat processing targeted at the maximum enhancement of the carcass, without any waste, the transformers can reach a hypothetical price of 9,80 €/kg. Whereas for the restaurateur, the red deer meat can reach a final price range between 22,88 and 51,47 €/kg (hypothesizing maximum sales of high value-added course).Through the maximization of the meat’s quality, hunter and transformers profits can increase significantly, with a redistribution of the added value throughout the supply chain.A limitation of this study is that the calculated values does not take into consideration the stakeholders’ production costs (that increasing along the supply chain).Considering our findings, the development of sustainable supply chain of the local game meat could be economically interesting. Thus, wild ungulates could represent an economic resource for the population rather than an environmental and social cost for the mountain areas

Development of a wild game meat supply chain: assessment of the food safety of large wild ungulates’ meat by interviews with hunters

Despite the population of wild ungulates is rapidly growing (Ramanzin et al., 2010) and the Italian production has the predisposition to the high quality food, there is no food supply chain for hunted game in the Italian territory. Consequently, the customers’ demand is met by relevant amount of imported meat from other nearby markets.With the purpose of understanding the opportunities of an Italian new supply chain, the present research aims at the collection of information about hunters and their behavior in order to assess the food safety of their product.The survey was carried out on a sample of 145 hunters of Verbania (Piedmont-Italy), by using self-compiled questionnaire.Results show the interesting potentialities of the area in terms of quantity of salable product. On the other hand, the hunted meat still does not reach adequate hygienic and quality standards to be traded. In fact, the descriptive analysis show that 63% of the hunters do not provide a proper maturation of the meat and 21% of them do not bleed the game just after shooting. Furthermore, 12% of the respondents use cellars or even the garages for the maturation.The wrong behaviors of the hunters are related to their cultural background, which probably represents the most important barrier for a change.Our findings provide important inputs for the development of a real market for this type of meat. Therefore, the research seems to be relevant at both scientific and practical level. It proposes a new conceptual and practical option for a more sustainable development of Italian (and others) mountain areas

Effect of hunting awareness on wild game meat purchase behavior

Although wild game meat constitutes a sustainable and healthy alternative to conventional meat and hunting contributes to the control of game populations, international studies on consumer attitudes towards this type of meat are still limited and no previous research has been focused on the Italian population.For the development of successful marketing strategies and/or public policy intervention, the knowledge of consumers’ purchase behavior is a key factor. Among all the determinants that can influence the behavior of consumers of hunted wild game meat (i.e. animal welfare, sustainability, ecological food choice, product safety, nutritional quality), the consumers’ awareness of hunting activity and their perceptions of wild game meat assume a crucial role.Accordingly, in this paper an online survey on a sample of 741 Italian meat consumers has been conducted to investigate the relationship between consumers’ purchase behavior and their awareness of hunted game meat and hunting practices (chi-square test, F-test). Statistically significant differences were found among segments of consumers with different levels of wild game meat consumption frequency. The analysis shows that, as expected, the highest consumption level of wild game meat relates to the highest level of general awareness of wild game meat and hunting practices.Our findings are in line with previous literature, that links positive behaviors of consumers towards wild game meat and hunting to familiarity and experience with hunting and hunters. Nonetheless, the present study provides a deeper understanding of the Italian consumers’ attitudes and perceptions of wild game meat and could suggests policy guidelines for the development of future targeted marketing strategies.

The Effect of Verbal and Iconic Messages in the Promotion of High-Quality Mountain Cheese: A Non-Hypothetical BDM Approach

To ensure the sustainable development of mountain livestock farming, the adequate remuneration of high-quality dairy products is fundamental. In this sense, communication strategies aimed at promoting mountain products and ensure better positioning and higher market prices are fundamental. The present research seeks to expand the literature regarding consumers’ willingness to pay for mountain foods by using an online real auction experiment aimed at evaluating the premium price that consumers are willing to pay for summer over winter mountain cheese, depending on the information provided concerning the taste anticipation or animal welfare. The results showed an overall small premium price given to the higher quality summer cheese; this could be, partially, due to a generally low degree of consumer knowledge about mountain dairy farming. With reference to communication strategies, the results provide evidence about the effectiveness of the rational messages founded upon sensorial characteristics and the anticipated taste of cheese. In addition, this study explored that adding a logo had no main effect on the price premium participants were willing to pay. This may be due to the fact that logos and claims, having a lower information content, are more indicated to lead the choice of consumers with a higher level of awareness. In the conclusion section, policy and agribusiness implications of the findings are provided

Il quadro normativo sulle denominazioni commerciali dei prodotti ittici nella gestione delle frodi: strumento di gestione o problema irrisolto?

Authors suppose the amounts of fraudulent seafood sales reported in recent years to be somehow correlated to the problems of Italian commercial fish-naming policy. However, given the lack of data and studies, the work has an exploratory nature focusing on three main issues: the seafood labeling policy framework, the evolution of lists of fish species’ trade names and the spread and type of fraudulent sales. According data authors believe that the fish-naming system is improving, however that lack of studies estimating the right amount of diversification in trade names for marine species seems so to be a weakness for a winning policy. Furthermore, seafood retailers seems to assume an important role on fraud management and government should support research for innovative species detection methods to be applied directly in retailers quality insurance systems. This would be a win-win strategy, preventing fraudulent behaviour and reducing the costs for public inspections

The economic sustainability of agri-environmental policies: the application of Reg. (EC) N. 1095/2007 in the rice sector

Positive Mathematical Programming represents a useful tool for agri-environmental policy planning. This paper estimates the consequences of the application of the Regulation (EC) 1095/2007, relating to the ban on the use of the active agent Tricyclazole, which is normally employed to combat rice blast. The main objective is to quantify the variation in farmers’ revenues and the change in use of land, in response to variations in the yield of rice produced and its production costs. The research has been focussed on the rice-farming sector in the Parco Agricolo Sud Milano (PASM), a sub-urban agricultural area of the regional capital of Lombardy that, since 1990, has been a protected area and has been under the management of the Province of Milan. The data for the case study was collected in situ and combined with the data from the Agriculture Databank of Lombardy Region considering a sample of farms representative of the rice-farming sector in the PASM. The study present the results of simulations of ten different sce-narios with a view to evaluating the overall sustainability of the cautionary measures introduced

Il quadro normativo sulle denominazioni commerciali dei prodotti ittici nella gestione delle frodi: strumento di gestione o problema irrisolto?

Authors suppose the amounts of fraudulent seafood sales reported in recent years to be somehow correlated to the problems of Italian commercial fish-naming policy. However, given the lack of data and studies, the work has an exploratory nature focusing on three main issues: the seafood labeling policy framework, the evolution of lists of fish species’ trade names and the spread and type of fraudulent sales. According data authors believe that the fish-naming system is improving, however that lack of studies estimating the right amount of diversification in trade names for marine species seems so to be a weakness for a winning policy. Furthermore, seafood retailers seems to assume an important role on fraud management and government should support research for innovative species detection methods to be applied directly in retailers quality insurance systems. This would be a win-win strategy, preventing fraudulent behaviour and reducing the costs for public inspections

Consumer perception of different species and presentation forms of fish: An empirical analysis in Italy

Fish consumption analysis involves public and commercial interests. Many studies have focused on this issue over the last few decades. Researchers rarely consider the heterogeneity of these products, while we believe there are at least five reasons why it should always be taken into account: (i) health factors; (ii) environmental drawbacks regarding the consumption of particular species; (iii) the importance of species and how the fish are presented to consumers; (iv) the perceived differences between species are of prime importance for marketing strategies; and finally (v) being able to identify different species helps prevent fraud. Through perceptual mapping we studied the perceived differences between European anchovies (Engraulis encrasicholus), European sardines (Sardina pilchardus) and mackerel (Sgomber spp.), wild-caught cod and sole, and farmed sea bream and sea bass. We checked for the influence of gender, age, education and residence in how consumers perceive seafood. We found that the gender, age and education of consumers do not usually affect their perception of blue fish as being cheap, flavorsome and traditional, cod and sole as nutritional, and farmed sea bream and bass as natural. A slight difference was found in central/southern Italian residents, who perceive farmed sea bream and bass as cheap and flavorful. The results validate the idea that consumers recognize the different attributes of each species or type of fish for sale, but some issues remain unresolved and further studies are recommended