Article
Plant Sciences
Nicola Gasparre, Marina Mefleh, Fatma Boukid
Summary: The rising demand for vegan products in the infant food market necessitates knowledge of their nutritional composition and appropriate guidance. This study analyzed the nutritional composition and health/nutrition claims of commercial plant-based infant foods. Cereals, seeds, pseudocereals, and/or pulses were the most common ingredients. Nutritional composition varied significantly between vegan and vegetarian products, with vegan products generally having higher protein content and lower sugar content.
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Jessica Bevenuto Mattar, Aline Carare Candido, Darlene Larissa de Souza Vilela, Vanessa Ladeira de Paula, Luiza Carla Vidigal Castro
Summary: This article compares the information on the labels of Brazilian food bars with the legislation of the National Health Surveillance Agency and finds that while most information complies with regulations, there are some nutritional irregularities due to the ultra-processed nature of most food bars. Therefore, reforming Brazil's nutrition labeling is necessary to facilitate consumer identification of the nutritional quality/value of foods.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Mariana Santos, Filipa Matias, Ana Isabel Rito, Isabel Castanheira, Duarte Torres, Isabel Loureiro, Ricardo Assuncao
Summary: This study assessed the adequacy of ready-to-eat cereals for children in Portuguese supermarkets and found that only 5.1% of the products could be promoted to children according to nutrient profile models. The most common nutrients requiring reformulation were sugar, saturated fatty acids, salt, and dietary fiber. Reformulation scenarios considered could reduce sugars, SFA, and salt content while increasing dietary fiber intake. These results support the implementation of reformulation strategies for developing healthier food products for children.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Daniela Martini, Cristian Del Bo, Mauro Serafini, Marisa Porrini, Nicoletta Pellegrini, Donato Angelino
Summary: The study compared the nutritional composition of 376 breakfast cereals available in 13 Italian retailer online stores, with and without fibre-related nutrition claims. It found that products with fibre-related claims did not necessarily have better overall nutrition than those without claims.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Fernanda Mediano Stoltze, Emily Busey, Lindsey Smith Taillie, Francesca R. Dillman Carpentier
Summary: The study examined the impact of warning labels and nutrient content (NC) claims on Chilean adults' perceptions and behavioral intentions towards breakfast cereals. Fiber-related claims led to more positive ratings of the product, creating a health halo effect, while warnings had a main effect on product perceptions, reducing ratings even when NC claims were present. The findings suggest that warning labels can help mitigate the influences of NC claims on consumers' perceptions of product healthiness.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Marilia Prada, Magda Saraiva, Claudia Viegas, Bernardo P. Cavalheiro, Margarida Vaz Garrido
Summary: The study found that the sugar content of breakfast cereals in Portugal is generally high, with most products exceeding the national guidelines, especially those targeted at children. The researchers suggest implementing strategies to reduce sugar content in breakfast cereals and increasing consumer awareness of sugar content to promote healthier decision-making.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Rafaela Correa Pereira, Joao de Deus Souza Carneiro, Michel Cardoso de Angelis Pereira
Summary: The study evaluated the nutrient profile of packaged foods in the Brazilian market, finding that ultra-processed foods were less healthy and products with nutrition and/or health claims tended to have slightly better nutritional quality. These findings underscore the need to improve the supermarket packaged food environment by reformulating products and enhancing food labeling regulations.
JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-MYSORE
(2022)
Review
Nutrition & Dietetics
Brian Cook, Joao Costa Leite, Mike Rayner, Sandro Stoffel, Elaine van Rijn, Jan Wollgast
Summary: Sustainability labelling on food products can assist consumers in making informed choices, but there is limited consumer understanding and small effects in real-world settings. Consumers are willing to pay more for sustainability-labelled products, and intuitive sustainability labelling cues have a greater impact.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Asha Khosravi, Eleonora Bassetti, Katelyn Yuen-Esco, Ndeye Yaga Sy, Rosenette Kane, Lara Sweet, Elizabeth Zehner, Alissa M. Pries
Summary: This study evaluated the nutritional quality of commercially produced complementary food (CPCF) available in five West African countries using the WHO Europe nutrient profiling model. Only 15.9% of the assessed products were considered nutritionally suitable for infants and young children. The presence of added sugar and excessive sodium levels were common reasons for products to fail the nutrient profiling assessment.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Marilia Prada, Magda Saraiva, Claudia Viegas, Bernardo P. Cavalheiro, Margarida Vaz Garrido
Summary: Two studies suggest that consumers have limited awareness of the sugar content in products, often overestimating it, which influences their overall evaluation of the products. Products with high sugar content were perceived as tastier but also less healthy by participants.
FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE
(2022)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Gert W. Meijer, Patrick Detzel, Klaus G. Grunert, Marie-Claude Robert, Violeta Stancu
Summary: The review discusses the increasing number of label elements on food labels and their impact on consumer decision making for easier, safer, and healthier food choices. Recommendations include further research on allergen symbols, understanding the health impact of nutrition-related label elements, and promoting global harmonisation in label elements on foods.
TRENDS IN FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Benjamin Thompson, Anne-Therese Mcmahon, Wendy L. Watson, Devorah Riesenberg, Clare Hughes, Elizabeth P. Neale
Summary: This study examined consumer perceptions of content claims used on food and beverage labels and advertisements through semi-structured focus groups with Australian consumers. The findings revealed that complex factors influence food choices, consumers are skeptical of content claims, the difference between content and health claims is unclear, and the regulation of content claims is not common knowledge.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
(2023)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Dragana Davidovic, Katarina Paunovic, Danica Zaric, Ana Jovanovic, Nadja Vasiljevic, Dragana Stosovic, Milena Tomanic
Summary: This study assessed the prevalence of nutrition and health claims on pre-packaged food products, revealing an increasing trend in the use of NHCs. The findings suggest that NHCs play a crucial role in influencing consumers' food purchase decisions and should be subject to strict surveillance.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Margherita Dall'Asta, Donato Angelino, Gaetana Paolella, Rossella Dodi, Nicoletta Pellegrini, Daniela Martini
Summary: The lack of a common legal definition for wholegrains leads to an unclear classification of products in grocery stores. This study analyzed the nutritional quality of wholegrain products compared to products made with partially wholegrain or refined grains in the Italian market. The results showed that the nutritional quality varied among different product categories and that the inclusion of wholegrains is not always a guarantee of overall nutritional quality.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Laura Dominguez, Virginia Fernandez-Ruiz, Montana Camara
Summary: Micronutrients play a critical role in pregnant women. This study evaluated the content and adequacy of health claims in food supplements for pregnant women in Spain. The results showed that the supplements met the requirements and were in line with the declared values. This study confirms the importance of health claims in promoting consumer confidence and informed purchasing decisions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ray Huffaker, Monika Hartmann
Summary: The study demonstrates that foodborne-disease outbreaks in cattle markets exhibit endogenously unstable characteristics, and the use of nonlinear time series analysis can provide more informative and credible empirical modeling for real-world dynamics.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Johannes Simons, Carl Vierboom, Jeanette Klink-Lehmann, Ingo Haerlen, Monika Hartmann
Summary: In addition to the classic conscious motivations such as health and animal welfare, vegetarianism/veganism also includes some less conscious or unconscious drivers, such as empowerment, enrichment, regaining autonomy, creating identity, and feelings of superiority. People turning to vegetarianism/veganism are not only seeking to improve their health and protect animals, but also are driven by liberation from the meat production system and the desire for empowerment and self-determination.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ching-Hua Yeh, Monika Hartmann
Summary: This study examines the impact of psychological constructs on consumer intention to buy and Willingness-To-Pay for cured ham, identifying two consumer segments with different sensitivities to price and other attributes. The integrated choice and latent variable model based on an extended Theory of Planned Behavior framework highlights the importance of moral norms, attitude, and perceived behavioral control in explaining consumer behavior, with subjective norms playing a role primarily for the price sensitive group.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ching-Hua Yeh, Monika Hartmann, Matthew Gorton, Barbara Tocco, Virginie Amilien, Kamilla Knutsen Steinnes
Summary: This cross-country study found that price is the most important attribute in consumers' apple purchase decisions, followed by country-of-origin and production method. The behavioral constructs of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, trust, and personal moral norms showed considerable consistency in explaining consumers' intentions to buy organic apples across the investigated countries.
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Janine Macht, Jeanette Klink-Lehmann, Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, Monika Hartmann
Summary: Research shows that the effect of organic labelling on white wine consumption is more complex compared to other food products. While there is no overall positive halo effect on liking of organic wine, there is a positive effect on willingness to pay for it. The study's experimental design and moderation-mediation framework provide a better understanding of consumers' attitudes and behaviors towards organic wine.
BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Matthew Gorton, Barbara Tocco, Ching-Hua Yeh, Monika Hartmann
Summary: The study identifies antecedents of trust in and use of eco-labels, showing that institutional trust and knowledge of third-party certification play important roles in influencing consumer behavior. The results suggest that emphasizing third-party verification can enhance consumer trust and increase uptake of eco-labels.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Marco Lerro, Ching-Hua Yeh, Jeanette Klink-Lehmann, Riccardo Vecchio, Monika Hartmann, Luigi Cembalo
Summary: This study reveals that consumers' psychographic characteristics, such as subjective knowledge, wine involvement, and sustainability concern, moderate their preferences for wine with different credence attributes related to sustainability. Wine sustainable certifications positively impact consumers' preferences, and these effects are mainly moderated by individuals' wine involvement and sustainability concern.
FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Thies Petersen, Monika Hartmann, Stefan Hirsch
Summary: Environmental, ethical, and health concerns have led to an increased interest in meat substitutes (MS) and the labeling of credence attributes. A study analyzing the nutritional quality of different meat products found that MS contain fewer 'nutrients to limit' and food additives compared to red meat and poultry meat innovations. However, the study also revealed that Front-of-Package (FOP) labeling is not always a reliable indicator of nutritional quality and naturalness.
FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Nina Weingarten, Manuela Meraner, Leonie Bach, Monika Hartmann
Summary: The study found that the direct impact of health and environmental information on reducing meat consumption behavior is limited, but it has some influence on the attitudes of individuals with low subjective knowledge. The results suggest that more research is needed to assess the effectiveness of information provision as an intervention, including a direct measure of meat consumption behavior.
FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jeanette Klink-Lehmann, Nina Langen, Johannes Simons, Monika Hartmann
Summary: The study reveals that consumers consider animal husbandry as the core area where there is a need to take responsibility, followed by food safety, slaughtering, and transport. Issues related to the environment and social working conditions of employees are judged to have lower relevance. The majority of respondents attribute responsibility to other stakeholder groups rather than consumers of meat products.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ursula Ploll, Miguel Arato, Jan Boerner, Monika Hartmann
Summary: This research investigates the factors that drive the perceptions of soil microbe solutions among different adopter groups. The results show that despite the benefits and advantages, soil microbes are still perceived as a challenging product among all adopter groups, and their observability and trialability are also perceived as difficult.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Ingo Birkle, Jeanette Klink-Lehmann, Monika Hartmann
Summary: This study uses structural equation modeling to investigate the public acceptance of fattening pig, beef cattle, and broiler husbandry, finding the roles of trust, animal treatment concerns, and perceived benefits.
Article
Economics
Stefan Hirsch, Thies Petersen, Maximilian Koppenberg, Monika Hartmann
Summary: This study analyzes the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) and finds a small positive link between them. The study also reveals publication bias favoring statistically significant CSP-CFP regression coefficients. It further examines the impact of contextual characteristics on the heterogeneity of published effects and finds that the effects are smaller when a binary index is used to measure CSP or when CSP is used as the dependent variable. However, firms in industrial sectors or operating in China exhibit stronger effects.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Economics & Policy
Nina Weingarten, Monika Hartmann
Summary: The study demonstrates that information provision is an effective way to reduce consumer discrepancies in implicit and explicit attitudes towards straw and slatted floors in pig husbandry. Although consumers still prefer straw floors after receiving information, the intensity of this preference significantly decreases. Mediation analysis shows a high interconnection between implicit and explicit attitudes. The study finds no evidence that consumers' personality traits moderate the effectiveness of the cognitive or affective frame.
BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
N. Marcus, J. Klink-Lehmann, M. Hartmann
Summary: An increasing number of consumers are reducing or completely abstaining from meat consumption and turning to meat substitutes. This study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior by adding factors such as animal welfare, environmental, and health concerns to understand the decision-making process of consuming meat alternatives. The findings suggest that attitude and subjective norms significantly influence the intention to eat meat substitutes, while health concerns directly predict consumers' intention and animal welfare concerns indirectly predict their intention. Contrary to prior literature, environmental concerns have no influence.
FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE
(2022)
