Determinants of intention to reduce salt intake and willingness to purchase salt-reduced food products: Evidence from a web survey.

To study consumers' intention to reduce their dietary salt intake and willingness to purchase salt-reduced food products, as well as the determinants of these, this research relies on data collected through a web survey of 1030 participants in Denmark. The majority of respondents (66.8%) express no intentions to change their dietary salt intake, but 12.6% indicate such intentions, and 20.6% claim to have already implemented a change. Willingness to purchase salt-reduced food products is high but varies across product categories, ranging from 52% for olives to 72% for meat spreads. Personal and social norms reveal the strongest influences on intention to change dietary habits, whereas personal norms, knowledge, and awareness of health consequences exert the strongest influences on willingness to purchase salt-reduced food products. These results suggest that most consumers are willing to purchase salt-reduced food products, even without having a salt reduction goal. These results are relevant for stakeholders and policy makers, as evidence of how consumers respond to salt-reduced food products and their intention to lower their dietary salt intake.

Mørk T ，Lähteenmäki L ，Grunert KG 《-》

Willingness to eat bread with health benefits: habits, taste and health in bread choice.

The association between the perceived importance of taste and health benefits and bread-eating habits is still not well recognized referring to products with the improved health value, in particular when it comes to the character of the health modification applied in the food product. In many populations, the crucial issue is to decrease the intake of salt and to increase the intake of fibre in the diet; therefore, modifications in foods concern these components. Thus, the aim of the study was two-fold: (1) to determine the association between the actual consumption of bread and the willingness to eat the bread with the decreased level of salt and the bread with the increased level of fibre; and (2) to determine whether and in what way the perception of the importance of taste and health benefits of bread are linked with the willingness to eat bread with the improved health benefits. The survey was conducted using computer-assisted personal interviews. The survey was conducted in October 2014 among 1014 Polish consumers. To evaluate the consumption of bread, questions concerning (1) the frequency of eating white bread, white bread with added grains, bran and so on and wholemeal bread, and (2) the amount of consumed bread were asked. The logistic regression analysis was performed separately for bread with fibre addition and bread with reduced salt content. Only statistically significant variables were used in the models, using an automatic stepwise method. The results of the study showed that consumers who were more willing to eat bread with added fibre were those who paid more attention to health aspects, those who consumed more wholemeal bread and those who ate breads with grains more frequently. Participants declaring moderate and high importance towards health benefits were more willing to eat bread with increased fibre content than those declaring minor importance of health benefits when choosing bread. Among consumers who were more willing to eat bread with reduced salt content, they were mainly those who ate more wholemeal bread. Participants for whom the taste was important and moderately important were less willing to eat bread with reduced salt content compared with those who considered this attribute as unimportant. When it comes to people who were less willing to eat bread with added fibre, they ate white bread more frequently and consumed bigger amounts of it. Those who were less interested in bread with reduced salt content declared consuming more white bread. Among them, there were also men and people for whom the taste of bread was crucial. It is necessary to increase the consumers' awareness of the health benefits of a product change and to gain their acceptance for the changed taste. The strength of this study is the measure of the amount of bread consumed by consumers as a variable that can be associated with the willingness to eat bread with improved health benefits. Results of our study may be valuable for undertaking activities referring to the public health, including educational activities aimed at the consumers. Thus, a public health campaign is needed to encourage Polish consumers to use less salt and more dietary fibre, which seems to increase the importance of health reasons instead of taste in the selection of bread. The outcomes can also be used by the companies operating on the food market with a particular emphasis on the bread offer to develop communication strategies, including the proper and clear information about the level of salt and fibre content. Moreover, food companies and consumer organisations should exert pressure on the government for greater support for product reformulation, for example, in the form of regulation, enforcing companies to reformulate their products. In fact, a proper policy emphasis on mandatory reformulation to reduce salt in processed foods is likely to be an effective and inequality-reducing route to improve the population health.

Sajdakowska M ，Gębski J ，Żakowska-Biemans S ，Jeżewska-Zychowicz M ... -  《-》

The roles of pollution concerns and environmental knowledge in making green food choices: Evidence from Chinese consumers.

In the face of growing environmental concerns among Chinese consumers over food contamination, this study investigates the determinants of Chinese consumers' purchase intentions and willingness to pay for rice with environmental attributes (green rice). The analysis focused especially on latent consumer traits of environmental pollution concerns and subjective environmental knowledge. The data was collected through survey questionnaires administered in three Chinese cities: Guangzhou, Wuhan and Lanzhou (n = 622). A structural equation model was estimated to generate direct and indirect effect estimates of latent and observables factors that determine consumer purchase intentions and willingness to pay for green rice. This study finds significant effects of subjective environmental knowledge on purchase intentions as well as pollution concerns on willingness to pay for green rice. While food quality concerns mediate purchase intentions and willingness to pay; individuals' socio-demographic characteristics including age, education, health status and income influence consumer choice for green rice. A relevant policy finding is that respondents who regard the government as the main agent in protecting the environment were less likely to choose green rice. Overall, the results suggest that strengthening environmental education and targeted market segmentation are necessary conditions for successfully establishing food products with labelled environmental credentials in the Chinese market.

Tong Q ，Anders S ，Zhang J ，Zhang L ... -  《-》

The credibility of the effects of functional food products and consumers' willingness to purchase/willingness to pay- review.

The credibility aspect of any food product is important in order to find and keep consumers, which is especially true for functional foods. Market success of these products depends mostly on the credibility of their beneficial effects on health. The aim of this literature review was to identify aspects that make the positive health effect of a functional product credible for consumers. Based on the established connection between purchase intention and credibility, articles have been collected, summarized and restructured. Research papers have been analyzed through a two-step selection process. From 1724 studies, 54 were selected to discuss the above mentioned topics. It has been found that most of the studies focus on the credibility of health claims, while those exploring the connection between different kinds of product attributes and the credibility aspect of functional food products are rare. It is believed that other features can significantly affect this aspect and it is strategically important to know these factors influencing credibility. The literature analysis showed that willingness to purchase functional products is influenced by sensory and non-sensory-characteristics of the product, while willingness to pay is affected for example by consumers' trust in functional foods. On the issue of what influences the credibility of the health benefits of functional products, ambiguous information was found. While one of the most important factors influencing acceptance of functional foods is credibility of information, other researchers' results show no direct significant relationship between credibility of health claims and willingness to purchase. Credibility of health effect is also influenced by the base product and the carrier ingredient, the source of information, the product design and cultural roots of a country.

Plasek B ，Temesi Á 《-》

A new model to predict consumers' willingness to buy fair-trade products.

The study aims to enrich the knowledge on the consumer's decision-making process towards fair-trade products. Starting from Theory of Planned Behaviour and Norm Activation Theory basic assumptions, the systemic effect of awareness of consequences, emotional empathy, attitude and personal norms on purchase intention is considered. The empirical research builds on an online survey with a sample of 215 consumers. The proposed model was tested through structural equation modelling. Results showed a positive effect of attitude towards the product, personal norms and empathy on purchase intention. Personal norms were, in turn, influenced by awareness of consequences of fair practices and emotional empathy and positively impacted on attitude towards the product. The paper offers recommendations to governments, industries and non-profit organisations for better marketing and promoting fair-trade products.

Zerbini C ，Vergura DT ，Latusi S 《-》