Understanding Nutrient - Contaminant Tradeoffs in fish consumer demand: Evidence from Kenya

Kira Lancker (), Christopher B. Barrett (), Kathryn J. Fiorella (), Christopher M. Aura (), Hezron Awandu (), Fonda J. Awuor () and Patrick Otuo ()
Additional contact information
Kira Lancker: Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen
Christopher B. Barrett: Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
Kathryn J. Fiorella: Department of Public & Ecosystem Health, Cornell University
Christopher M. Aura: Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kisumu
Hezron Awandu: Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kisumu
Fonda J. Awuor: Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kisumu
Patrick Otuo: Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Kisumu

No 2025/01, IFRO Working Paper from University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics

Abstract: Fish consumers are often challenged by tradeoffs between nutritional benefits and contaminant risks, which increase due to environmental pollution. Health campaigns and labeling initiatives can guide decision-making by providing information both on contaminant risk and nutritional value of a product, but it is not well understood how consumers react to such complex dual labels. We use data from a stated choice experiment in Kenya’s Lake Victoria region to study how consumers respond to dual labels on fish products, and how their responses to each label interact. We focus on the tradeoff between polyunsaturated fatty acids and contamination with microcystin, a toxin that accumulates in fish during harmful algae blooms. Our findings suggest that, faced with a dual information policy, consumers react rationally to dual health attribute labeling, and that nutrient labels and contaminant warnings can function concurrently, indeed even be mutually reinforcing, but pose a risk of inadvertently concentrating unhealthful consumption in less responsive subpopulations.

Keywords: food labels; fish consumer behavior; interdependent preferences; choice experiment; polyunsaturated fatty acids; algal blooms; Lake Victoria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 I18 O13 Q18 Q22 Q51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 85 pages
Date: 2025-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-env and nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://okonomi.foi.dk/workingpapers/WPpdf/WP2025/IFRO_WP_2025_01.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:foi:wpaper:2025_01

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IFRO Working Paper from University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Geir Tveit ().