Pesticide, AIDS, two-stage demand system, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q11,

Bailey, Alastair

Garcia Martinez, Marian

Silva, Andres

English

Research Papers in Economics

Impact of Pesticide Residue Concerns on 
Fresh Produce Consumption in the UK
by
Andres Silva
Graduate Student
Kent Business School,
University of Kent,
Canterbury, United Kingdom
Marian Garcia
Senior Lecturer
Kent Business School,
University of Kent,
Canterbury, UK
and
Alastair Bailey
Reader in Agricultural Economics,
Department of Economics,
University of Kent,
Canterbury, United Kingdom
Selected Paper prepared for presentation at the Agricultural & Applied Economics
Association’s 2010 AAEA, CAES & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado,
July 25-27, 2010.
Copyright 2010 by Andres Silva, Marian Garcia and Alastair Bailey. All rights reserved.
Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any 
means, provided this copyright notice appears on all such copiesImpact of Pesticide Residue Concerns on Fresh Produce Consumption in the UK
Andres Silva (as454@kent.ac.uk), Marian Garcia  (m.garcia@kent.ac.uk) and Alastair Bailey (a.bailey@kent.ac.uk), University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Pesticide residues in fresh produce are a major consumer concern (Keikotlhaile et al., 2010).  After food poisoning, the presence of 
chemical substances (toxics and pesticides) is the main food concern among European Union citizens; above obesity and genetically 
modified food concerns (EC, 2006).  In the United Kingdom (UK), out of 2,309 samples of fruit and vegetables tested, pesticide 
residues were detected in 66.4% of the cases (PRC, 2008).
Objective
Academic research has focused on determining the willingness to pay for pesticide-free products rather than estimating demand 
conditions. There is no evidence to indicate whether the stated preference has translated into revealed preferences, and there 
is insufficient demand information to tailor a communication campaign to minimise potential negative effects.
We estimate the impact of pesticide news among UK households, upon healthy eaten patterns, with 
respect to changes in food consumption.
Dataset and Methodology
We use the Living Costs and Food Survey dataset (formerly Expenditure and 
Food Survey) that involves more than six thousands households per year.
For two weeks, households keep a diary including food eaten outside, at 
home, homegrown and free food.
Using Nexis engine, we utilise as a proxy of pesticide 
concerns the newspaper hits per month, with the 
keywords: fruit and vegetable or produce and 
pesticide.
Assuming weak separability, we use the 
Paasche index to aggregate over categories. 
The elasticity estimation for a two stage 
demand system is presented in 
Carpentier and Guyomard (2001) .
Conclusions
As a result of pesticide news, UK householders have changed their consumption patterns. Firstly, households do not vary 
their overall food expenditure much. Secondly, fresh produce are substituted by carbs and fats, and in less degree, by meat and dairy.
Thirdly, processed fruit and vegetables are less sensitive to pesticide news and do not vary their expenditure much. 
Consequently, the evidence shows that as a result of pesticide news UK households are eating a less healthy diet.
References
Carpentier, A., and H. Guyomard. 2001. “Unconditional Elasticities in Two-Stage Demand Systems: An Approximate Solution.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 83, no. 1: 222-229
EC. 2006. “Risk Issues.” European Commission. Available online at: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_238_en.pdf 
Keikotlhaile, B. M., P. Spanoghe, and W. Steurbaut. 2010. “Effects of Food Processing on Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables: A Meta-Analysis Approach.” Food and Chemical Toxicology 48, no. 1: 1-6
Pesticide Residues Committee. 2008. “Annual Report.” Pesticide Residues Committee. Available online at: http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/prc.asp?id=2536
UK household
dataset
(apr 01-dec 08)
2 stage
LA/AIDS
with pesticide
media index
Elasticity
estimation
Results
Summary SUR estimation
Stage 1
Stage 2
R
2 Total* Significant (95%)
Food 0,89 15 8
Personal 0,50 15 5
Fresh Produce 0,79 17 11
Processed F&V 0,47 17 9
Meat and Dairy 0,60 17 13
Fat and Carb 0,64 17 10
(*) it includes a set of monthly dummy variables and a linear trend.
Stage 2 Fresh Produce Processed F&V Meat and Dairy Carb and Fat Other Food Expenditure Media Index
Fresh Produce -0,93 -0,0050 0,01 -0,01 0,98 0,51 -0,00016
Processed F&V 0,01 -1,10 0,03 0,08 1,04 0,57 0,00004
Meat and Dairy 0,01 0,0021 -0,98 -0,0028 1,01 0,54 0,00013
Fat and Carb  -0,0026 0,04 -0,01 -0,99 1,01 0,54 0,00026
Other Food 0,23 0,14 0,55 0,27 -1,15 0,58 -0,00011
Stage 1 Food Personal Home and Transport Expenditure Media Index
Food -0,82 0,03 0,78 0,55 0,000009
Personal -0,10 -1,28 1,24 1,31 -0,000066
Home and Transport 0,20 1,08 -1,27 0,91 0,000046
Unconditional Uncompensated Elasticities
Parameters

Impact of Pesticide Residue Concerns on Fresh Produce Consumption in the UK

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