Papers by Rosaria Viscecchia
Sustainability, 2022
Sustainable certifications communicate the environmental benefits of food products to consumers, ... more Sustainable certifications communicate the environmental benefits of food products to consumers, and allow producers to differentiate their products from conventional ones. This study expands existing knowledge on fish consumers by assessing the importance of sustainable certifications in fish selection. A best–worst analysis was applied to a convenient sample of Italian household members responsible for food shopping, segmented with a latent class clustering model based on their socio-demographic characteristics, fish purchase behaviors, as well as attitudinal features. The results show that sustainable certifications were of interest to consumers, as more than 1 out of 10 respondents valued sustainable certifications in purchasing fish. Respondents interested in sustainable certifications on fish were medium-aged consumers, with high working status, well educated, as well as living in a medium-size household without children. These consumers were more interested in organic foods a...
Food manufacturers use health claims to signal higher product quality and attract health oriented... more Food manufacturers use health claims to signal higher product quality and attract health oriented consumers. However, consumers' willingness to pay for health-related attributes may not be large enough to repay firms of the high costs associated with developing, certifying, and marketing such products. We investigate the impact of several health-related credence attributes on product's price, and what may help manufacturers to reach consumers with the highest willingness to pay for yogurt. To achieve our goals we use a large database of yogurt sales in Italy and two empirical approaches recently introduced in the hedonic price literature: Quantile Regression (QR) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). Results show that the implicit prices of health claims differ across price levels (i.e. quantiles), and that manufacturers differ in their ability to target consumers with high willingness to pay.
While consumer's demand for foods delivering health benefits, or functional foods, increases,... more While consumer's demand for foods delivering health benefits, or functional foods, increases, Reg.No.1924/2006, imposes to food manufacturers in the European market stringent criteria for health claims approval. Facing this trade-off, manufacturers need to assess which claim is more likely to lead to market success. We investigate the market value of different health claims, and their efficacy in Italy, using a large database of yogurt sales and a hedonic price framework. Our results indicate large variation in the marginal price of a health claim depending upon the type of health benefits delivered and the claim's strength.
In the last years the promotion of alternative food supply networks has grown in many developed c... more In the last years the promotion of alternative food supply networks has grown in many developed countries as tool of Rural Development. There are evidences about the potential beneficial role of these networks in promoting healthy eating habits becoming also an important measure of health policy. Our study explore the effect of the local food supply networks on adult Italian BMI taking into account for each individual the relative socio-economic status, the eating habits and other social behaviors. We use a cross-section of individual-level data, from the Multipurpose Survey of Households, matched with regional-level data on food outlets density and we adopt an IV estimation method to account the food stores potential endogenity. Results show that having access to alternative food supply network lead to a reduction on adult Italian BMI and contribute to improve human health. and consequently to reduce public health expenditure.
International Journal on Food System Dynamics, 2018
Nanotechnology represents a new frontier in food science with a great potential for many food sec... more Nanotechnology represents a new frontier in food science with a great potential for many food sectors. Several studies have examined public’s benefits and risks perception of nanotechnology, but the literature on the factors influencing the public’s attitudes toward nanotechnology is rather limited. We investigate the willingness to buy for nanotechnology foods, and the role of risks and benefits perceptions. We use a structured questionnaire was submitted to consumers and Principal Component Analysis, followed by Structural Equation Model, were performed. We estimate the consumer willing to buy nanotechnology food for four nanotechnology applications, and conclude on a positive role of trust in institutions on willingness to buy food with nanotech applications, and on the (relatively lower) importance on consumers' attitudes toward health and innovations. Policy implications are also provided.
The dietary supplements use is constantly growing as proof that people pay always more attention ... more The dietary supplements use is constantly growing as proof that people pay always more attention to their diet and their physical status. Italy recorded the highest growth in the European market within 2008 and 2012. The reasons and the factors behind the consumption of dietary supplements are complex, combining social, psychological, knowledge and economic factors. In order to provide consumers’ profiles and to estimate the following relationship between them and the socio-demo, lifestyle, health-related behaviour, a survey study was conducted on a sample of 400 Italian consumers. The main results highlight the presence of four different profiles, distinguished mainly by different lifestyle, health needs and self-perceived health status. Through a logit regression it was also estimated the probability to consume the different categories of supplements for each profile. In this way, this study could provide useful hints to implement public health guidelines and to avoid a no-proper ...
Foods, 2021
Background: The dietary supplements market is growing, and their use is increasing among professi... more Background: The dietary supplements market is growing, and their use is increasing among professional athletes. Recently, several new protein supplements have been placed in the marketplace, including energy bars enriched with insect flour. Edible insects, which are rich in protein content, have been promoted as the food of the future and athletes could be a reference sample for their continued emphasis on higher protein demand. The present study investigated the potential motivations to accept an energy protein bar with cricket flour, among a group of selected Italian professional athletes. A second aim was also to measure how an information treatment about the benefits of edible insects would have impact on acceptance. Methods: 61 Italian professional athletes (27 females) completed a structured questionnaire regarding supplements and eating habits, food neophobia, nutrition knowledge, willingness to taste edible insects and the associated factors. A question about sports endorsem...
ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE, 2012
Modern lifestyle is one among the most relevant causes of alimentary disorder and environmental p... more Modern lifestyle is one among the most relevant causes of alimentary disorder and environmental problems. Preventing both of them implies a win-win strategy for the improvement of social wellness (i.e. health and environmental benefits). A suitable strategy could be addressed to the partial substitution of caloric food (e.g. beef meat), which is also responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas (ghgs) emissions, with less caloric food (e.g. vegetables), which is proved of exerting a lower impact on climate change. The analysis is referred to the Italian case study, based on data from the Italian Statistical Institute (istat). The relationship between obesity and ghgs emissions is here explained experimentally through a 5-stage methodology. In the first step, a regression model (ols method) is adopted to explain obesity rate in terms of ratio of people consuming meat more than once a week, and the ratio of people consuming vegetables less than once a day. The outcome of this anal...
Economia agro-alimentare, 2021
This study started from the assumption that children's healthy diets are primarily determined... more This study started from the assumption that children's healthy diets are primarily determined by their parents and their intentions towards serving fruit and vegetables. Although it is widely known that a significant share in fruits and vegetables in children's diets has several advantages, there are some safety issues that can act as barriers in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption.Therefore, we investigated parents' determinants in giving fruits and vegetables to their children taking into account that the trust in actors who minimize the presence of risks could be instrumental to understand the whole story. Due to the incidence of childhood obesity, Southern Italy is a suitable case study. An extended Theory of Planned Behavior (tpb) model including trust towards government and retailers has been set up.Results suggested that parental intention to give to their children fruits and vegetables in primarily determined by their perceived behavioral control, then by t...
Foods, 2021
The dairy industry generates large volumes of liquid waste that can be used to produce biopolymer... more The dairy industry generates large volumes of liquid waste that can be used to produce biopolymers, potentially employable for the creation of milk biodegradable bottles. In that regard, this paper aims to explore the consumers’ intention to purchase sustainable packages, as well as to assess the willingness to pay for it considering renewable packages made using organic waste feedstocks from the dairy industry (e.g., whey) and plant-based material (e.g., corn, sugarcane, etc.). To reach the stated objectives, we collected individual-level information (e.g., age, gender, education, income) from a convenient sample of 260 Italian consumers and a modified version of the Theory of Planned Behavior estimated using a structural equation model. Findings show that attitudes and perceived behavioral control are the most important drivers of the consumers’ intention to purchase sustainable packages. Finally, statistics show that respondents slightly prefer to purchase products packaged using...
Sustainable Packaging, 2021
Sustainability, 2021
Innovations in food packaging, such as active and intelligent ones, improve food safety and lower... more Innovations in food packaging, such as active and intelligent ones, improve food safety and lower household food waste by extending product shelf life and providing information about food quality, respectively. The consumer adoption of such innovations could contribute to reaching one of the Sustainable Development Goals which calls for halving the per capita global food waste by 2030. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the consumers’ willingness to purchase active and intelligent packaging to reduce household food waste using a sample of 260 Italian consumers and a modified Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model. Using a structural equation model, findings show that respondents are more willing to purchase intelligent packaging rather than active packaging to reduce their wastes at home. Finally, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, awareness, and planning routines are the most important drivers of the intention to reduce household food waste.
Nutrients, 2019
The aim of this paper is to investigate consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for f... more The aim of this paper is to investigate consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for functional mozzarella cheese whose health benefits (reduced fat and enrichment in omega-3) are communicated by using nutrition claims (article 8) and health claims (articles 13 and 14) of the EU Regulation 1924/2006. In order to achieve the stated objective a choice survey was developed and administered to a sample of Italian respondents. The product attributes and attribute levels included in the choice experiment were obtained from in-depth interviews conducted with stakeholders working on the development of this new product in the Italian region of Puglia. Results show that many participants were not aware of functional food. Marketing segmentation performed via latent class analysis indicates that the development of this hypothetical product should be based on the addition of naturally enriched omega-3. In terms of health communication under Regulation 1924/2006, heterogeneity of pref...
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology, 2018
Sustainability, 2019
Labels play a strategic role in communication, representing the interface between consumers and t... more Labels play a strategic role in communication, representing the interface between consumers and the food system. Consumers’ ability to correctly understand product label information was essential for health and safety, making a sustainable choice, as also demonstrated by the Federal Regulations of USA, which define several guidelines to increase the readability of labels. Human Factor studies the interface design in order to assure users’ safety, comfort, and productiveness. So, it could be applied in label design to enhance consumers’ safeguard and healthcare. The aim of this study is to analyze the fields of application of the Human Factor in label design to evaluate the current methods of utilization in the food industry. A two-step literature review was applied, using bibliometric and content analysis. From bibliometric analysis, 6 clusters of themes and the predominance of medical terms arose. The absence of terms related to the food domain is surprising. So, a content analysis...
Food Research International, 2018
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Papers by Rosaria Viscecchia