 Romania Between Heritage and Certification: Consumer Perception of Traditional and Local Agri-Food Products with Certification PotentialAndreea Virginia Cenusa and
Felix Horatiu Arion
Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Studies, 2026, issue 1, 70-100 Abstract: Traditional and local agri-food products are deeply embedded in the identity and cultural continuity of Romanian rural communities, contributing to the preservation of culinary heritage, region-specific production practices and local biodiversity. This paper examines Romanian consumers’ attitudes and perceptions regarding traditional and local agri-food products with certification potential, with the aim of assessing the expected impact of quality certification schemes on consumption behaviour. Particular attention is given to the potential development of voluntary regional certification schemes for products originating from the Apuseni Mountains, a region with rich gastronomic heritage but limited prior research on certification feasibility. Data were collected through a self-administered online questionnaire conducted in spring 2025 using Google Forms, with responses from 1,033 Romanian consumers. The survey captured quantitative and qualitative data on consumer awareness, preferences, attitudes toward certification and purchasing behaviour. Data analysis combined descriptive statistics and non-parametric inferential methods. The Shapiro–Wilk test indicated non-normality of Likert-scale responses, justifying the use of the Kruskal–Wallis H test to examine differences across age groups and residence types. Results show that traditional and local products are consumed regularly by most respondents, particularly in rural areas, with strong preferences for dairy, meat and preserved foods. Consumer motivations are closely linked to perceived quality, taste, authenticity and support for local producers, while trust in certified products is primarily driven by formal and institutional guarantees rather than informal promotional cues. Willingness to pay a premium for certified products is generally positive but limited to moderate price increases, with notable differences between rural and urban consumers. Furthermore, the findings reveal strong public openness toward both a regional certification scheme for products from the Apuseni Mountains and a national scheme for the preservation of traditional recipes, especially when certification is linked to authenticity, transparency and gastronomic tourism experiences. These findings highlight the relevance of territorially anchored, voluntary certification schemes as instruments for strengthening consumer trust, supporting rural economies and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, offering valuable insights for policy design and future research on agri-food quality systems. Keywords: Traditional agri-food; consumer perceptions survey; quality schemes; territorial identity; Apuseni Mountains branding (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ddj:ejards:y:2026:i:1:p:70-100 Access Statistics for this article More articles in Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Studies from "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Doctoral Field Engineering and Management in Agriculture and Rural Development Contact information at EDIRC. |
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