The Country of Origin of Food: Consumer Perceptions of Safety and the Issue of Trust

Alexandra Lobb and Mario Mazzocchi

No 7728, 99th Seminar, February 8-10, 2006, Bonn, Germany from European Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: It is becoming increasingly difficult for the general public to attempt to assess risks using traditional methods such as smell, taste or other physical attributes of food. The existence of extrinsic cues such as the country of origin (COO) of food can help to make food purchase decisions easier for consumers. However, the use of extrinsic cues depends heavily on the extent to which consumers trust such signals to be indicative of quality or safety, which in turn depends on the credibility behind that cue. Using an ordered probit model, COO is examined as an extrinsic cue for food safety by looking at the relationship between trust in food safety information provided by national food standards agencies (NFSAs) and the EU Food Safety Authority (EUFSA) with nationally representative data from 2725 face-to-face interviews across five European countries. Results suggest that COO of food is an extrinsic cue for food safety and as consumers place increasing importance on food safety they are more interested in food produced in their own country. This, coupled with consumer trust in a strong, and independent national food standards agency, suggests the potential exists for the increased consumption of domestically produced foods.

Keywords: Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; International Relations/Trade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 10
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:eaae99:7728

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.7728

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