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Consumers' Food Choices (consumer + food_choice)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	75%

Selected Abstracts

Influence of Health and Environmental Information on Hedonic Evaluation of Organic and Conventional Bread

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 4 2008
L.E. Annett
ABSTRACT:, Grain from paired samples of the hard red spring wheat cultivar "Park" grown on both conventionally and organically managed land was milled and baked into 60% whole wheat bread. Consumers (n= 384) rated their liking of the bread samples on a 9-point hedonic scale before (blind) and after (labeled) receiving information about organic production. Consumers liked organic bread more (P < 0.05) than conventional bread under blind and labeled conditions. Environmental information about organic production did not impact consumer preference changes for organic bread, but health information coupled with sensory evaluation increased liking of organic bread. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and binary response (probit) regression models identified that postsecondary education, income level, frequency of bread consumption, and proenvironmental attitudes played a significant role in preference changes for organic bread. The techniques used in this study demonstrate that a combination of sensory and econometric techniques strengthens the evaluation of consumer food choice. [source]

Consumers' everyday food choice strategies in Finland

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 4 2006
Katja Järvelä
Abstract In developed countries, choosing and purchasing food is today perhaps more complex than ever. In recent years, European consumers have experienced several food crises. We face a rapidly expanding range of novel food products, the food chain has become longer, and the origin of food more anonymous. At the same time, consumers confront increasing amounts of information on food every day. Consumers build their conceptions of modern food-related risks on the basis of their everyday knowledge and coping strategies. Hence, the focus of this paper is on consumers' food choices and everyday practices in relation to food safety and quality as well as food-related risks. The paper is based on a Finnish study1 examining consumers' food choices. The data for the study were collected in September 2004 using an Internet-based food diary accompanied by open-ended questions on food-related views and strategies. Altogether, 92 consumers completed the diary. The method combining the tradition of dietary intake and food consumption surveys with open-ended questions was developed in order to gain an insight both on the types of foods purchased and on consumers' conceptions of food-related issues. In this paper, we focus on the key findings of the study as regards to consumers' notions on food quality and safety issues and the practices they use in their everyday lives. We found eight everyday strategies consumers use. We suggest, first, that the strategies are important in simplifying food choice and making daily life easier, and second, that consumers use food-related information flexibly in creating these strategies. [source]

Food consumption and demographics in Japan: Implications for an aging population

AGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007
Mauricio V.L. Bittencourt
This study estimates a cross-sectional model based on the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) to examine the determinants of food consumption patterns in Japan over life-cycle periods. The test of structural changes, the analysis of the effects of demographic characteristics, and the estimation of expenditure and price elasticities are conducted from a random sample of 1,281 households from a Japanese household survey in 1997. Results show that each economic or noneconomic factor has a different impact on food consumption over a lifetime. Changes in consumption of some food groups can be explained by price and income effects where others can be explained by demographic characteristics. Financial constraint is not binding and residential location is likely to have little or no impact on predicting consumers' food choices at different periods of their lives. Other key factors that affect consumption pattern include family size, number of children, lifestyle, and health concern. [EconLit citations: C310, D120, D910.] © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 529,551, 2007. [source]