The willingness to consume organic food: A review

Consumer's perception of food pairing products with usual, novel and unusual flavour combinations: A segmentation approach

In saturated markets, companies are continually launching new products. Food innovations particularly play a decisive role in this case. One new concept is food pairing, which signifies that the more aromatic compounds two foods have in common, the better they taste together. Food pairing offers an opportunity to develop innovative foods. However, some consumers are risk-averse or exhibit food neophobia. Studies on food neophobia indicate that innovative foods could face rejection. The factor that represents a marketing barrier is not only the sensory rejection of the products when tasting them but also the refusal to even try such innovative products. Therefore, the idea of whether consumers are generally open to food pairing is important to examine. Nonetheless, research into this issue is lacking thus far. The subject of how consumers judge usual, novel, and unusual pairing principles was investigated in this study. The topic of whether a target group for food pairing products exists and characterized the target group was also analysed. To achieve the objective of the study, an online survey of German consumers (n = 1,064) was conducted; these consumers judged the five flavour combinations of each category (usual, novel, unusual). The results revealed a four-cluster solution, with one-third of the sample expressing an openness to food pairing. The whole sample judged the usual combinations as suitable; by contrast, the novel and unusual combinations were deemed to be mainly appropriate for the food pairing cluster. The proposed measurement methodology for testing the openness of food pairing, which distinguishes between usual, novel, and unusual pairings, has demonstrated its usefulness. Those consumers who are open to food pairing have a high level of food involvement and a low degree of food neophobia. Furthermore, they show the highest organic food purchase frequency.

Predicting willingness to consume healthy brand foods using the theory of planned behavior: the role of nutritional literacy

Introduction

The willingness to consume healthy foods has highlighted the growing importance of health, even more so when it comes to food choice, and predicting the willingness to consume foods of a healthy brand represents an action that leads to the practice of conscious eating habits, but what is behind this willingness? To answer this question and based on previous studies such as the theory of planned behavior and nutritional literacy, this study aimed to build a predictive model through an empirical study to examine the influence of nutritional literacy (NL) on attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), as well as to determine the influence of the three variables of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on the willingness to consume healthy brand foods (WCHBF) in the Peruvian market.

Methods

The research focused on the population that stated that they were consumers of the Unión brand (a brand whose value proposition is the sale of healthy foods), obtaining 482 consumers. The study was conducted under a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design approach.

Results

The results support the existence of a positive and significant effect of NL on ATT, SN, and PBC, finding the exact behavior of SN and PBC in WCHBF; however, in the proposed model, it is observed that ATT has no impact on WCHBF.

Conclusion

Applying strategies that lead to a change in consumer behavior towards healthy brands is a matter of time and will. In this context, the findings indicate that nutritional literacy plays an essential role in the willingness to consume healthy foods, which sheds more light on the design of educational interventions and awareness campaigns that independently inform about nutritional benefits and empower consumers, allowing them to make informed and healthy choices.

Prospective effects of food safety trust on brand evangelism: a moderated-mediation role of consumer perceived ethicality and brand passion

BACKGROUND

The current study integrates brand management literature with food consumption research and develops an integrative framework by combining food safety trust, consumer perceived ethicality, brand evangelism, and brand passion into a single conceptual model.

METHOD

This quantitative study included 228 ready-to-eat consumers in China using purposive sampling. Data were collected at two periods in time, resulting in a time-lag study in which respondents provided data on independent and moderating variables at time 1 and mediating and dependent variables at time 2 with the same respondents from time 1. The hypothesized correlations were tested using SEM and PROCESS Macro techniques.

RESULTS

According to the findings, trust in food safety has a significant impact on brand evangelism and passion. Furthermore, consumer perceived ethicality (CPE) found to have a substantial moderating role between food safety-FS and brand passion. Moreover, we validated the brand passion role as a mediator between brand evangelism and food safety trust, and investigated whether consumer perceived ethicality conditionally affects the strength of the indirect relationship among food safety trust and brand evangelism through brand passion, indicating a moderated-mediation mechanism.

ORIGINALITY

Drawing on Sternberg theory of love, current study is the first of its kind to evaluate the boundary role as well as the conditional indirect influence of customer perceived ethicality among the study's variables and provides useful information for ready-to-eat food brand managers on how to keep them interested in their risk-free food products.

Development and validation of a questionnaire to examine determinants of consumer intentions to purchase organic food

BACKGROUND

Organic farming is a relatively new concept in developing countries compared to developed countries. Understanding the factors affecting consumers' willingness to pay for organic foods is critical to increasing the production of these products. This study aimed to develop and validate a Persian version of the questionnaire for assessing determinants of organic food purchase intention among adults in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

METHODS

The study was conducted in a two-phased standardized methodology in 2019. During Phase 1, a draft questionnaire was developed based on a comprehensive literature review. In phase 2, validation of the instrument was performed. Participants included a multidisciplinary expert panel comprising 14 members to evaluate content validity, a sample of lay people to assess face validity (n = 20), internal consistency (n = 300), and test-retest reliability (n = 62). The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were measured using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha.

RESULTS

Forty-nine of 57 items had a CVR above 0.51 and were retained in the questionnaire. Three items were added to the questionnaire. The average CVI for the questionnaire was 0.97. Cronbach's α and ICC of the entire questionnaire were 0.86 and 0.93, respectively. Each phase of development progressively improved the questionnaire, resulting in a final 52-item questionnaire divided into 9 dimensions, including knowledge, attitude, subjective norms, health consciousness, environmental concerns, perceived convenience of purchase, perceived cost, sensory characteristics, and purchase intention.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for examining determinants of consumer intentions to purchase organic food.

Microorganisms in Organic Food-Issues to Be Addressed

The review aimed to analyse the latest data on microorganisms present in organic food, both beneficial and unwanted. In conclusion, organic food's microbial quality is generally similar to that of conventionally produced food. However, some studies suggest that organic food may contain fewer pathogens, such as antibiotic-resistant strains, due to the absence of antibiotic use in organic farming practices. However, there is little discussion and data regarding the importance of some methods used in organic farming and the risk of food pathogens presence. Concerning data gaps, it is necessary to plan and perform detailed studies of the microbiological safety of organic food, including foodborne viruses and parasites and factors related to this method of cultivation and specific processing requirements. Such knowledge is essential for more effective management of the safety of this food. The use of beneficial bacteria in organic food production has not yet been widely addressed in the scientific literature. This is particularly desirable due to the properties of the separately researched probiotics and the organic food matrix. The microbiological quality of organic food and its potential impact on human health is worth further research to confirm its safety and to assess the beneficial properties resulting from the addition of probiotics.

Green consumers' behavioral intention and loyalty to use mobile organic food delivery applications: the role of social supports, sustainability perceptions, and religious consciousness

Consumer behavior in the food industry has undergone significant changes in recent years, largely driven by growing consumer awareness of environmental, technological, religious, and social concerns. As a result, organic food has emerged as a popular alternative to conventionally produced food. Many emerging nations, including Bangladesh, promote its consumption due to its perceived health and safety benefits. Despite this growing trend, there remains a need for more understanding of consumer behavior, particularly concerning their motivations for continuous purchases toward mobile organic food delivery applications. In order to fill this knowledge gap, this study looks at how six indirect predictors (emotional support, informational support, environmental consciousness, religious consciousness, trust, and technological consciousness) affect customer loyalty through the intention to use organic food. This study employed a purposive sampling technique (i.e., judgmental sampling) and collected data from 386 respondents across three cities in Bangladesh. Data analysis was conducted using SmartPLS 3 software. The study found that all predictors, except for technological consciousness, significantly influenced behavioral intention, which, in turn, significantly influenced loyalty. Additionally, the study revealed that the five predictors, excluding technological consciousness, indirectly influenced loyalty through behavioral intention. The results of this study add to the existing literature on organic food by extending social support theory to include consumers' primary motivations, such as environmental, religious, technological, and social consciousness, as predictors of loyalty to use mobile organic food delivery applications. The study highlights the importance of sustainable food consumption in promoting environmental protection, ensuring social justice, creating economic success, and providing valuable insights for implementers looking to expand the organic food market.

Graphical abstract

The Microbial Diversity in Relation to Postharvest Quality and Decay: Organic vs. Conventional Pear Fruit

(1) Background: Organic food produced in environmentally friendly farming systems has become increasingly popular. (2) Methods: We used a DNA metabarcoding approach to investigate the differences in the microbial community between organic and conventional 'Huangguan' pear fruit; and (3) Results: Compared to a conventional orchard, the fruit firmness in the organic orchard had significantly lowered after 30 days of shelf-life storage at 25 °C, and the soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acid (TA), and decay index were higher. There were differences in the microbial diversity between organic and conventional orchards pears. After 30 days of storage, Fusarium and Starmerella became the main epiphytic fungi in organic fruits, while Meyerozyma was dominant in conventional fruits. Gluconobacter, Acetobacter, and Komagataeibacter were dominant epiphytic bacteria on pears from both organic and conventional orchards after a 30-day storage period. Bacteroides, Muribaculaceae, and Nesterenkonia were the main endophytic bacteria throughout storage. There was a negative correlation between fruit firmness and decay index. Moreover, the abundance of Acetobacter and Starmerella were positively correlated with fruit firmness, while Muribaculaceae was negatively correlated, implying that these three microorganisms may be associated with the postharvest decay of organic fruit; (4) Conclusions: The difference in postharvest quality and decay in organic and conventional fruits could potentially be attributed to the variation in the microbial community during storage.

Organic agriculture and foods: advancing process-product integrations

With a doubling of the human population during the last 45 years and Earth's annual resources being already depleted mid-year, it becomes increasingly clear that the food systems need to change. The most common food related needs required are drastic changes of the current food production systems, diet change and food loss/waste reduction. As for agriculture no further land expansion is responsible and more food needs to be grown sustainably on less land and on healthy soils. For food processing, gentle, regenerative technologies have to generate healthy foods based on consumer requirements. Organic (ecological) food production is increasing worldwide but the interface between production and processing of organic foods is still hazy. This paper reviews the history and current state of organic agriculture and organic foods. Existing norms for organic food processing and urgent needs for their gentle, consumer-oriented processing are presented. Key issues such as production systems integration, water efficiency, plant and soil microbiota, biodiversity and supplementary food production systems are discussed. Processing of organic foods using fermentation, microbial/food biotechnological processes and sustainable technologies for retaining desirable nutrients and removing undesirable ones are proposed. Environment and consumer-oriented concepts for future production and processing of human food supplies are proposed.

Green-Labelled Rice versus Conventional Rice: Perception and Emotion of Chinese Consumers Based on Review Mining

The COVID-19 pandemic increased public health awareness, changing consumers' sensitivity and beliefs about food health. Food anxiety and health scares turn consumers toward safe and healthy foods to strengthen their immunity, which makes green food more popular. However, it remains unclear how to understand the gap between consumer intention to purchase green food and their actual purchasing behaviour. Taking rice as an object of study, comparing differences in consumer perceptions and emotions towards green-labelled rice and conventional rice is beneficial for understanding the components and psychological characteristics of consumer perceptions of green food. Therefore, we used topic modelling and sentiment analysis to explore consumers' focus of attention, attitudinal preferences, and sentiment tendencies based on the review (n = 77,429) from JD.com. The findings revealed that (1) consumers' concerns about green-labelled rice are increasing rapidly, and most have a positive attitude; (2) consumers of green-labelled rice are more concerned about origin, aroma, and taste than conventional rice; (3) consumers of conventional rice are more concerned about the cost-performance ratio, while consumers of green-labelled rice are also price-sensitive; (4) green label mistrust and packaging breakage during logistics are the leading causes of negative emotions among consumers of green-labelled rice. This study provides a comparative analysis of consumer perceptions and emotions between the two types of rice, thus revealing the main influencing factors of the intention-behaviour gap and providing valuable consumer insights for the promotion of green consumption and the sustainable development of the green food industry.

The Impact of Interpretive Packaged Food Labels on Consumer Purchase Intention: The Comparative Analysis of Efficacy and Inefficiency of Food Labels

The objectives of this study are twofold. Firstly, the current study elucidates the impact and efficacy of food labels in developing consumers' attitudes and intentions towards the selection of nutritional food. Secondly, the inefficacy of labels in developing consumers' attitudes and intentions towards healthy packaged food selection is demonstrated. The supportive theories of the current model are those of reasoned action and protection motivation. The data of 797 respondents have been collected from four major grocery stores in Pakistan. The structural equation model has been employed for the analysis of data. The results indicate that the efficacy of food labels has a positive significant effect on attitudes towards familiar and unfamiliar foods. In contrast to this, inefficacy in labelling has shown a positive significant effect on familiar foods but is insignificant for unfamiliar foods. The user-friendly food labels significantly affect unfamiliar foods in terms promoting consumer attitudes. Reciprocally, the inefficacy of labels creates a hindrance to the reading of unfamiliar labels while purchasing food items. The study findings reveal the fact that food label information and its format influences consumer attitudes and intentions at the point of purchase.

Antecedents and consequences of healthiness in café service: Moderating effect of health concern

This study aims to examine the antecedents of consequences of healthiness in the café business context. Additionally, this study attests to the moderating effect of one's concern for health (health concern) between healthiness and attitude. To attain a more vivid response, this research selected Starbucks coffeehouse as a case study. Hygiene, healthiness, and nutritional disclosure are the determinants of healthiness in the café business area. The consequences of healthiness are attitude and purchase intention for café products. Health concern is the moderating variable between healthiness and attitude in the context of café businesses. In order to test the association between attributes, a survey was used. Amazon Mechanical Turk was chosen to recruit survey participants. The valid observation for data analysis was 455 participants. For hypothesis testing, a structural equation model was implemented. Regarding the results, health concern is positively influenced by hygiene and organicness, but healthiness is negatively affected by nutritional disclosure. Moreover, it was found that health concern significantly moderates the relationship between healthiness and attitude, and attitude exerts a positive effect on purchase intention.

Preference-Based Determinants of Consumer Choice on the Polish Organic Food Market

Background: The development of the organic food market in Poland is currently at a fairly high level. There is a growing demand for organic food, but the share of total sales remains low. There are still many barriers related to the availability of organic food and information about it. In addition, consumers are skeptical of the inspection system in organic farming and admit that these foods do not meet their expectations regarding sensory qualities. Methods: The article conducted its own research, using an author's survey questionnaire, which was distributed in Lublin Province. The research sample consisted of 342 respondents and was diverse in terms of gender, age and place of residence. The purpose of the analysis was to ascertain the determinants affecting the choice of organic food. For the study, the method of correspondence analysis was used, the purpose of which was to isolate characteristic groups of consumers who exhibit certain behaviors towards organic products. Results: Respondents admitted that they buy organic food several times a month, most often spending an amount of EUR 10-20 (per month). They also paid attention to product labeling, with labels read mostly by residents of small towns (up to 30,000 residents). Respondents were also asked about the reasons why they do not buy organic food. The results of the analysis show that respondents believe it is too expensive, but they also cannot point out differences with other products. Conclusions: The main purpose of this article was to study the preferences of organic food buyers and to identify factors that determine their choice but that may also be barriers to purchasing this category of food. These issues need to be further explored so as to create recommendations in this regard for various participants in the organic food market.

Consumer conceptualisations of food-related wellbeing: An exploration of wellbeing-related terms in four industrialised countries

Perceived (or subjective) wellbeing is regarded as key to understanding consumer food choices and the development of strategies to promote desirable eating habits. Yet, in-depth understanding of the specific factors that contribute to people's perceived wellbeing across cultures is lacking. These factors motivated the present research that used word associations to conduct an exploratory analysis of consumer conceptualisations of food-related wellbeing (WB). Adults (n = 4945) living in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore or Germany, speaking respectively, English or German, took part in the study. Health, pleasure, food quality, positive emotions and social aspects of food consumption were the main associations with food-related wellbeing. Absence hereof was associated with unhealthiness, disgust, negative emotions and poor mental health. The differences in these main associations emphasised the importance of exploring wellbeing, as well as lack hereof. Not doing so leads to an incomplete understanding of this multidimensional construct. The research was conducted with four terms related to wellbeing (each in their positive and negative versions): 'sense of wellbeing' and 'lack of wellbeing', 'feeling good' and 'feeling bad/unhappy', 'satisfied with life' and 'dissatisfied with life' and 'fulfilled in life' and 'unfulfilled in life'. Because these different terms gave rise to different wellbeing associations, researchers in this area must choose their empirical approach with care. The terms 'sense of wellbeing' and 'feeling good' tended to more frequently give rise to health-related associations. Conversely, 'satisfied with life' and 'fulfilled in life' tended to more frequently give rise to positive spiritual and emotional associations of food-related wellbeing. The main conceptualisations of food-related wellbeing were cross-culturally similar, but extension of the present research to other Asian countries was recommended based on several differences between Singaporean participants and those from other countries. In ethnically diverse countries like Singapore, further within-country investigations of different cultures also have merit.

Can the Part Replace the Whole? A Choice Experiment on Organic and Pesticide-Free Labels

Chemical pesticides are a serious impediment to agricultural sustainability. A large-scale reduction in their use to secure food supplies requires more innovative and flexible production systems. Pesticide-free production standards bring together the strengths of all participants in the food value chain and could be the catalyst for this transition. Using a choice experiment approach and green tea as an example, this study investigated consumers’ preferences for organic and pesticide-free labels. According to the findings, organic and pesticide-free labels and brands are all major factors that affect consumers’ purchase decisions. Consumers are more willing to pay for organic labels than pesticide-free labels. There is a substitution effect between organic labels and pesticide-free labels. Complementary effects exist between organic labels and national brands, pesticide-free labels, and national brands. Consumer trust has an impact on consumers’ choice of organic labels and pesticide-free labels. The use of pesticide-free labels is an alternate approach for small- and medium-sized businesses in a specific market to lower the cost of organic certification.

Economic and Environmental Assessment of Conventional versus Organic Durum Wheat Production in Southern Italy

Conventional and intensive agriculture systems represent an environmental challenge. This research aims at evaluating the economic and environmental implications of conventional and organic durum wheat production in Southern Italy by applying material flow analysis and the crop accounting method. The purpose is to evaluate and compare the natural resource consumption, waste generation and economic profitability of conventional and organic durum wheat farming, respectively. The functional unit is one hectare of cultivated land. System boundaries encompass all agronomic operations, from cradle to gate. The research applies a bottom-up approach and relies on either primary or secondary data. It emerges that organic durum wheat production reduces the use of synthetic chemical and phytosanitary products, as well as plastic waste, by up to 100%. Moreover, it decreases diesel use by 15%, with a consequent reduction in CO2 emissions, and also avoids soil and groundwater pollution. From an economic perspective, gross income for conventionally farmed durum wheat is still 55% higher compared to organic production. Public authorities should boost environmental sustainability by supporting organic production from either an economic or a social perspective, by enhancing the sharing of best practices, by certification for farmers’ groups, by research and innovation, and by incentives in taxation. Overall, this research represents a further step towards the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

Relevant Fusarium Mycotoxins in Malt and Beer

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites of high concern in the food and feed industry. Their presence in many cereal-based products has been numerously reported. Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage worldwide, and Fusarium mycotoxins originating from the malted and unmalted cereals might reach the final product. This review aims to describe the possible Fusarium fungi that could infect the cereals used in beer production, the transfer of mycotoxins throughout malting and brewing as well as an insight into the incidence of mycotoxins in the craft beer segment of the industry. Studies show that germination is the malting step that can lead to a significant increase in the level of all Fusarium mycotoxins. The first step of mashing (45 °C) has been proved to possess the most significant impact in the transfer of hydrophilic toxins from the grist into the wort. However, during fermentation, a slight reduction of deoxynivalenol, and especially of zearalenone, is achieved. This review also highlights the limited research available on craft beer and the occurrence of mycotoxins in these products.

Does Organic Farming Increase Raspberry Quality, Aroma and Beneficial Bacterial Biodiversity?

Plant-associated microbes can shape plant phenotype, performance, and productivity. Cultivation methods can influence the plant microbiome structure and differences observed in the nutritional quality of differently grown fruits might be due to variations in the microbiome taxonomic and functional composition. Here, the influence of organic and integrated pest management (IPM) cultivation on quality, aroma and microbiome of raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) fruits was evaluated. Differences in the fruit microbiome of organic and IPM raspberry were examined by next-generation sequencing and bacterial isolates characterization to highlight the potential contribution of the resident-microflora to fruit characteristics and aroma. The cultivation method strongly influenced fruit nutraceutical traits, aroma and epiphytic bacterial biocoenosis. Organic cultivation resulted in smaller fruits with a higher anthocyanidins content and lower titratable acidity content in comparison to IPM berries. Management practices also influenced the amounts of acids, ketones, aldehydes and monoterpenes, emitted by fruits. Our results suggest that the effects on fruit quality could be related to differences in the population of Gluconobacter, Sphingomonas, Rosenbergiella, Brevibacillus and Methylobacterium on fruit. Finally, changes in fruit aroma can be partly explained by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by key bacterial genera characterizing organic and IPM raspberry fruits.