Rice is a staple crop in Nigeria. Even with a push to increase domestic production, little is known about the functionality of Nigeria’s open bag markets and the preferences of consumers for specific rice attributes. Our study uses a hedonic price model to identify quality attribute preferences of consumers and potential market failures. Our results indicate that Nigerian consumers prefer rice with homogenous long slender kernels and a low presence of broken rice and are indifferent to chalkiness. The findings are useful as they can inform future strategies for rice breeders, domestic policy makers, and rice exporters.

We used a survey to investigate some motives for drinking red, sparkling, and white wine among 3,433 Norwegian respondents. Respondents with interest in wine drank all types of wine more frequently than those with little interest. Interest in cultural activities, which often are associated with wine consumption, also increased the frequency of consumption of all types of wine. Respondents who scored high on conspicuous attitudes drank sparkling and white wine more frequently than respondents with low scores. However, conspicuous attitudes did not affect the frequency of red wine consumption. (JEL Classifications: D12, Q13).

The American Viticultural Area (AVA) allows designated wine regions to be created, marketed, and protected. But many of the now 248 AVAs may be meaningless to consumers. Are AVAs thus meritless? Can AVAs affect consumers despite low recognition? A choice experiment examines three appellations that are applicable to the same wine: New Jersey, USA; Pilesgrove, New Jersey; and Outer Coastal Plain (OCP)—a New Jersey AVA. The results show that consumers prefer OCP wines over the former alternatives, affirming the marketing potential of AVAs that omit state names. Nevertheless, AVA may have exploited consumers’ lack of information.

Little attention has been paid to the effects of personality traits on the consumption of wine and beer. We used a survey to investigate the associations between personality traits and the differences in expected consumption frequencies of wine and beer for 3,482 Norwegian respondents. High scores on extraversion and openness to experiences increased the expected frequency of wine consumption, high score on agreeableness reduced the frequency of wine consumption, while scores on conscientiousness and neuroticism had no effects. For beer, there were no significant effects between personality traits and the frequency of consumption. (JEL Classification: D12, Q13).

A large and growing body of literature has studied consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for local foods in the United States. However, these studies implicitly assume that consumers perceive local foods to have superior quality than nonlocal foods. Little is known about WTP for local foods when taking into account differences in consumer perception of food quality between local and nonlocal foods. In this article, we conduct an economic experiment to assess the effect of locally grown information on consumer WTP and quality perceptions of three broccoli varieties (one commercial variety grown in California and two newly developed local varieties). Our results show that consumers rate both the appearance and the taste of the two local broccoli varieties lower than the California variety when evaluating food quality blindly. However, consumers’ evaluations of the two local varieties improve substantially after being told the two varieties are locally grown. Results also indicate that consumers are willing to pay a price premium for the two local varieties after being told that they are locally grown. Our results provide evidence that locally grown information has a positive effect on both consumer WTP and quality perception of local foods.

A choice experiment was conducted concurrently with eye-tracking technology to examine consumer preferences for local and organic produce, notably effects of logo- versus text-labeling formats. We find consumers prefer local to nonlocal, but some consumers will pay a higher premium for logo-labeled produce compared with text-labeled produce. Additionally, we find evidence that a local logo tends to attract attention quicker and hold attention longer compared with a text label. The organic text label was preferred by some consumers compared with the USDA certified organic logo, even with though consumers looked at the logo longer and more often.

Legalized trade in commercially farmed wildlife products is sometimes promoted as a conservation strategy. In theory, flooding the market with cheaper or better quality products will decrease the profitability of poaching. Bear bile is highly sought-after for use in traditional medicine and overhunting to supply the demand for bear parts has led to declining populations across South-east Asia. Bear bile farming was established to help supply the high demand for bear bile. In Viet Nam it is legal to keep registered bears, but illegal to extract or sell bear bile. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 66 bear bile farmers in Viet Nam to examine the conservation implications of bear bile farming. The results show that demand for wild bear bile was not satisfied by the widespread availability of farmed bear bile. Farmers report a strong consumer preference and willingness to pay more for wild-sourced products. The existence of bear bile farms presents considerable challenges to law enforcement. The results suggest that bear bile farming in Viet Nam relies on restocking from wild populations, and farmers openly admit to extracting and selling bear bile, in clear violation of national legislation. The case of bear bile farming in Viet Nam provides an example of wildlife farming failing to reduce pressure on a once widely distributed and relatively abundant species. Research into consumer values, attitudes and behaviours will help to improve understanding of market drivers and help inform the design of effective species conservation and management strategies.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) operators are becoming more innovative in their efforts to attract consumers to become CSA shareholders. Therefore, CSA operators must understand which attributes consumers value. Using an online survey of Connecticut consumers in conjunction with a choice experiment, we evaluate consumer preference and willingness to pay for various attributes, including risk mitigation. We find younger consumers are more likely to prefer CSAs with organic products, while a greater diversity of products in the CSA share will increase preference for a CSA for some consumers. Further, we find that consumers with and without CSA experience value the risk-mitigation attribute.

Christmas tree sales are considerable throughout the United States. Understanding the drivers of purchase for Christmas trees is critical for producers and stakeholders within states with tree production. Using data from a choice experiment in combination with latent class modeling, we find that tree height is important, but tree species is less important. Further, we show that local labeling does not influence all consumers. With respect to retail location, we show that nursery/greenhouse and choose-and-cut retail outlets are preferred by a majority of consumers but not by all consumers. Recommendations for the varying retail outlets are provided.

Interviews of customers at direct produce markets were conducted to determine why expenditure patterns vary. Frequency of shopping at outlets, income, uses of produce, household composition, and distance to the outlet are important determinants of expenditures at direct product outlets.

Consumer behavior with respect to purchase regularity, satisfaction, origin, and willingness to pay for selected local versus non-Tennessee grown fresh produce is examined. Except for origin, consumer behavior with respect to the above is affected by income, household size and age distribution, race, age of respondent, college education, and occupation. The pattern of significant variables changed by commodity. Tomatoes, followed by peaches, had the greatest local market potential. Local promotion of other products may be more difficult. Results suggested consumers have no strong preferences for or against locally grown fresh produce. The prices of locally grown commodities in Knoxville should be less than or equal to those of comparable quality non-Tennessee commodities.

Much of the dark meat from U.S. broilers continues to be exported to other countries because of local consumers’ long-standing and strong preference for white breast meat. In this review we will discuss what causes meat colour differences and how environmental and genetic factors influence the colour of poultry meat. It is well documented that the darker colour of leg/thigh meat is due to the larger amount of myoglobin and haem pigments, as well as a higher pH when compared to breast meat. Slaughtering older birds increases myoglobin content in the meat and selection of breeds for greater breast meat yield may be involved. Using a wheat-based diet tends to lighten the colour of breast meat but has less effect on the thigh meat. Several antimicrobials used in further processing can lead to either bleaching or a reddening of the meat. Changes to colour using chemical or physiological methods are theoretically possible, however may not be great enough to improve consumer acceptability. From a marketing perspective, increased media promotion of dark meat as being equal to white meat in healthiness and superior in flavour may have the greatest effect on increasing sales.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the role of community preference information from discrete choice studies of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in health technology assessment (HTA) reports and subsequent policy decisions.

Methods: We undertook a systematic review of discrete choice studies of CRC screening. Included studies were reviewed to assess the policy context of the research. For those studies that cited a recent or pending review of CRC screening, further searches were undertaken to determine the extent to which community preference information was incorporated into the HTA decision-making process.

Results: Eight discrete choice studies that evaluated preferences for CRC screening were identified. Four of these studies referred to a national or local review of CRC screening in three countries: Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands. Our review of subsequently released health policy documents showed that while consideration was given to community views on CRC, policy was not informed by discrete choice evidence.

Conclusions: Preferences and values of patients are increasingly being considered “evidence” to be incorporated into HTA reports. Discrete choice methodology is a rigorous quantitative method for eliciting preferences and while as a methodology it is growing in profile, it would appear that the results of such research are not being systematically translated or integrated into HTA reports. A formalized approach is needed to incorporate preference literature into the HTA decision-making process.

European consumers are more and more aware of the credence attributes of foods, particularly of those of animal origin. The aim of the paper was to assess whether the information about production system may modify the consumer liking of cheese. Montasio PDO cheese (MC), usually made by milk from indoor reared cows of different breeds, was processed from pure milk of Italian Simmental (IS) cows (ISMC) or of IS cows grazing on mountain pasture (ALP-ISMC). A consumer test was carried out in two sessions on 60-d ripened cheeses. In the first, both cheeses were tasted by Montasio consumers in blind condition (Perceived liking, PL). Then the respondents were asked to read information about the breed and the rearing system and to give their Expected liking (EL). Two weeks after, in the second session, the same consumers tasted the two cheeses with the linked information (Actual liking, AL). Despite the similar PL average score (ISMC: 21±2·3 vs. ALP-ISMC: 23±2·2 points on Labelled Affective Magnitude scale, P>0·05), it was possible to identifying consumers’ clusters with differential liking for the two types of Montasio PDO, that were characterised by different physico-chemical properties. Consumers express a high EL for ISMC (38±2·6 points) and even more for ALP-ISMC (61±2·5 points). The AL of ISMC (35±2·1 points) was similar and statistically not different from the EL (complete assimilation of information about breed). For ALP-ISMC the assimilation was complete for consumers (29%) who have expressed a positive PL for it, at least twice as much than ISMC. For the rest of consumers, both information and intrinsic properties play a significant role in the AL of the pasture-derived cheese.

The aim of the present work was to perform a physico-chemical, descriptive quantitative and consumer-preference analysis of hard ewes'-milk cheeses that had been matured for one year and to determine the correlations between the variables studied. The cheeses were elaborated with milk from three breeds of sheep (Castellana, Churra and Assaf) with different somatic cell counts (lower than 500 000 cells ml−1; between 1 000 000 and 1 500 000 cells ml−1, and more than 2 500 000 cells ml−1). The results show that the cheeses elaborated with milk with high SCC had lower values of dry extract and fat and high values of pH and fat acidity and were described as pungent, granulose and less creamy. Regarding the effect of breed, the cheeses made with milk from the Churra breed had lower values for fat and those made with Assaf breed milk were significantly more rancid. The study of correlations showed that creaminess was positively correlated with the dry extract and total fat content and negatively correlated with ash and fat acidity, indeed grainy texture and pungency had the opposite sign in their correlation with these latter variables. The yellow colour was positively correlated with ash and negatively with protein. Finally, the consumer preferences reveals that the less accepted cheeses showed the higher values for rancidness and pungency and they were less likely to accept the cheeses made with Assaf breed milk.

Ewes' milk samples with low (<500000 ml−1), medium (1000000–1500000 ml−1) and high (>2500000 ml−1) somatic cell counts (SCC) were used to manufacture hard ewes' cheese using the Zamorano cheese manufacturing protocol. Cheeses that had been ripened for 1, 2 and 3 months were used to obtain isoelectric ovine casein that was analysed by capillary electrophoresis. The texture of the cheeses during ripening was determined instrumentally using the Warner-Bratzler maximum shear force and assessed for sensory qualities by consumers using hedonic tests. The study revealed that the pH value and the lactose content of the milk were affected by high SCC and that the coagulation properties were dependent on the somatic cell content. The protein and moisture contents of the cheeses were unaffected by SCC but a significant increase of pH with ripening time were observed in high-SCC cheeses. The results also pointed to a significant increase in proteolysis related to SCC levels, showing that intact casein, both αs1 and β-casein, decreased as the SCC of milk increased, and that the proteolytic fragments, mainly I-αs1, increased with SCC levels. Significant differences in texture were found among the samples, the cheeses made with high levels of SCC being significantly less compact at each ripening time. The differences in texture were detected by the consumers, who reported defects in cheeses made with high levels of SCC. Indeed, high SCC cheeses were significantly less well accepted.