Perceived Risk of Fish Consumption in a Low Fish Consumption Country

Sustainable or Not? Insights on the Consumption of Animal Products in Poland

Animal products are one of the main constituents of the human diet. They are the main source of energy, proteins, microelements, and bioactive substances. The most popular negative health impacts linked with the consumption of animal products are obesity, atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and cancer. Apart from human health, consuming animal products is also controversial lately, due to farm animals' well-being and environmental protection issues. Thus, within the context of sustainability, the consumption trends of animal products were investigated through our on-line questionnaire surveys. The following animal products were involved in the survey: unprocessed meat (pork, beef, lamb, veal, mutton, chicken, duck, goose, turkey), processed meat (cold-cuts, sausages, pates), fish products, and eggs. Our research concluded that consumption among respondents with higher education was unsustainable for both unprocessed and processed meat, as eating habits in terms of type and quantity of consumed meat indicated respondents' unawareness. The consumption of fish products was also revealed as unsustainable regarding the quantity of fish consumed in terms of its beneficial nutritional values. Egg consumption was revealed as the most sustainable among the investigated animal products. However, insignificant egg consumption among the respondents showed the actual need of social education in terms of the current knowledge regarding the beneficial aspects of eggs.

Drivers of fish choice: an exploratory analysis in Mediterranean countries

Fish is an important source of healthy proteins and an important economic sector in Mediterranean countries. Despite the wealth of knowledge acquired in Western countries, a gap has been found in studies in developing countries, as in the Mediterranean southern shore. Therefore, we aimed to investigate consumers' perceptions of finfish attributes, with qualitative tools as focus groups, given the exploratory nature of the research. The focus groups have been held in Italy, Lebanon, Spain, and Tunisia; in each country, one was held in seaside areas and one in inland areas, in order to control for the availability of fish that shapes consumers' evaluations and expectations. The focus groups have been analysed through content and semantic analyses. Results of the study yielded main themes recurring in the discussions that have been categorized along such dimensions: (1) definition of fish products; (2) context; (3) search attributes; (4) experience attributes; and (5) credence attributes. Among attributes, the ones mostly guiding consumers' choices seem to be freshness and fish species, which are used as proxies for quality and sensory attributes. Most of the respondents preferred delicate white fish, while some exceptions were found in Tunisian respondents preferring blue fish and they also were the only ones who were not looking for convenient and already cleaned products. Trust also represented a critical element in guiding the decisions of consumers: with a lack of trust, consumers deviate from preferring local products, as noticeable especially in Lebanese respondents' opinions. Credence attributes such as animal welfare and sustainability received a minor attention from all the respondents.

Consumer fish consumption preferences and contributing factors: empirical evidence from Rangpur city corporation, Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

Fish is the important source of animal protein and regarded as the second food after rice in Bangladesh. Fish consumption is influenced by consumer socioeconomic characteristics.

OBJECTIVE

The specific objectives of the current study are (i) to find information on consumers' fish consumption levels; (ii) to assess the relationships between consumer's preferences and their socioeconomic characteristics; and (iii) to investigate the factors affecting consumer fish consumption.

METHOD

We surveyed a total of 128 randomly selected respondents from the Rangpur city corporation (RPCC), Bangladesh in 2019 using a semi-structural questionnaire.

MAIN FINDINGS

The average consumption level of fish per quarterly was 1.45 kg/person. Rui (Labeo rohita), Pangas (Pangasius), Hilsha (Tenualosa ilesha) and Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) were the most frequently consumed fish species. Significant differences in consumption level were observed among the age categories, profession, gender, education, and income levels (p < 0.05). Most participants consumed fish more than once a week throughout the year and there was no seasonal impact on fish consumption. Fish consumption level was significantly and positively associated with education and income levels and negatively associated with age categories (p < 0.01). The stepwise multiple regression method elucidated 53.7% of the variance (p < 0.05) for fish consumption.

CONCLUSION

Fish consumption in the RPCC is lower than the average consumption level in Bangladesh particularly for lower income people. Lack of proper knowledge on fish consumption value and high price appeared as the important barrier to increase the fish consumption.