Consumer Perception of Food Attributes

Food credence attributes are food features that are difficult to verify even after consumption. Consumers, today, are concerned about many food credence attributes, including animal rights, contamination risk, fair trade practice, genetic modification, geographical origin, and organic farming. For the past several decades, many scholars have analyzed the value consumers place on credence attributes and have reported that consumers will pay a premium for foods with these desirable properties. In addition, their studies reveal that individual consumers place greater importance on some credence attributes than others. For example, some are seriously concerned about animal welfare, while others are solely concerned about food safety. One of the objectives of this book is to summarize recent empirical findings from scholarly works on how consumers value food credence attributes. Such knowledge would benefit producers, processors, retailers, and policy makers. Another objective of this book is to discuss the effectiveness of the programs that have been introduced to strengthen the relationship between producers and consumers. Many programs have been developed to more effectively inform consumers regarding food production processes.

Shigeru Matsumoto, Tsunehiro Otsuki

Overview. Consumer Perspectives of Food Safety Issues: Novel Technologies, Chemical Contaminants, Organic Food and Deceptive Practices. Consumers' Food Safety Concern over Animal Diseases. Consumer Perceptions of Genetically Modified Foods and GMO Labeling in the United States. Consumer Concerns about Radioactive Contamination: Empirical Analysis of the Vegetable Wholesale Market in Kanto Region. International Trade and Credence Goods. Food Safety Standards and Trade Patterns. Toward a win-win integration of agriculture and the food sector: Perspectives from the Mekong region. Factors Influencing Farmers' Demand for Agricultural Biodiversity. Culture and ethics concerning food attributes. Food Credence Attributes, Multi-Criteria Analysis and the Ethics of Food Choice. Farm Animal Welfare and Consumers. Interpersonal and Institutional Trust effects on Country of Origin Preference. Do Consumers Benefit from Labels of Regional Origin? The Case of the Czech Republic. Organic and local foods: substitutes or complements? Marketing and Regulation Associated With Food Attributes. Consumer Views of Health-Related Food Labelling: From Front-of-Pack Logos to Warning Labels. Genetically Modified Food Product Labeling Effects: How Dietary Restraint Impacts Consumer Cognition and Behavior. Sustainability, Certification Programs, and the Legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Conclusion.