scholarly journals Are the Innovative Electronic Labels for Extra Virgin Olive Oil Sustainable, Traceable, and Accepted by Consumers?

Foods ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Violino ◽  
Federico Pallottino ◽  
Giulio Sperandio ◽  
Simone Figorilli ◽  
Francesca Antonucci ◽  
...  

Traceability is the ability to follow the displacement of food through its entire chain. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) represents Italian excellence, with consumers’ increased awareness for traceability. The aim of this work is to propose and analyze the economic sustainability and consumers’ preference of three technological systems supporting traceability: Near Field Communication (NFC) based; tamper-proof device plus Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and app; QR code tag plus “scratch and win” system and blockchain. An anonymous questionnaire to Italian consumers (n = 1120) was made to acquire consumers’ acceptability of the systems and estimating their willingness to pay additional premium prices for these. An economic analysis estimated and compared the technology costs at different production levels. Results show that 94% of the consumer respondents are interested in the implementation of such technologies, and among them 45% chose QR-code protected by a “scratch-and-win” system with a blockchain infotracing-platform (QR-B). The consumers interested are willing to pay a mean premium price of 17.8% and economic analysis reported evidenced an incidence always lower than mid-/high-production levels. The success of the QR-B could be ascribed to different aspects: the cutting-edge fashion trend of blockchain in the food sector, the use of incentives, the easy-to-use QR-code, and the gamification strategy.

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Violino ◽  
Federico Pallottino ◽  
Giulio Sperandio ◽  
Simone Figorilli ◽  
Luciano Ortenzi ◽  
...  

The traceability of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) could guarantee the authenticity of the product and the protection of the consumer if it is part of a system able to certify the traceability information. The purpose of this paper was to propose and apply a complete electronic traceability prototype along the entire EVOO production chain of a small Italian farm and to verify its economic sustainability. The full traceability of the EVOO extracted from 33 olive trees from three different cultivars (Carboncella, Frantoio and Leccino) was considered. The technological traceability system (TTS; infotracing) consists of several open source devices (based on radio frequency identification (RFID) and QR code technologies) able to track the EVOO from the standing olive tree to the final consumer. The infotracing system was composed of a dedicated open source app and was designed for easy blockchain integration. In addition, an economic analysis of the proposed TTS, with reference to the semi-mechanized olive harvesting process, was conducted. The results showed that the incidence of the TTS application on the whole production varies between 3% and 15.5%, (production from 5 to 60 kg tree−1). The application at the consortium level with mechanized harvesting is fully sustainable in economic terms. The proposed TTS could not only provide guarantees to the final consumer but could also direct the farmer towards precision farming management.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Bimbo ◽  
Luigi Roselli ◽  
Domenico Carlucci ◽  
Bernardo Corrado de Gennaro

Providing information to consumers through the label is a means for food companies to inform consumers about product’s attributes, including the country of origin (COO). In the EU, COO labeling has been made mandatory for several categories of food products, to enable consumers to make informed choices at the point of sale. In particular, Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 has introduced a mandatory country-of-origin labeling system for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). In the present study, conducted in Italy, we test whether there is a price differential associated with the COO information for EVOO. To this end, we employ a hedonic price model and data about the purchase of EVOO products collected from 982 consumers at the supermarket checkout. Having interviewed these consumers, we also assess the share of EVOO consumers that correctly identify the country of origin of the product purchased. Our findings point out that, in Italy, the EVOO with domestic origin, indicated on the label, benefits of a premium price equal to +35% compared to the product labeled as blend of European EVOOs, while a discount of −10.8% is attached to EVOOs from a non-European origin. A significant share of consumers in our sample (19.04%) is, however, unable to correctly identify the origin of the EVOO purchased. This label misuse mostly occurs among consumers who report that they had purchased Italian EVOO, while they had actually purchased a blend of European EVOOs. Female and more highly educated consumers are less likely to misuse label information about the product’s origins.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (8) ◽  
pp. 1899-1911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idiano D’Adamo ◽  
Pasquale Marcello Falcone ◽  
Massimo Gastaldi

Purpose The price of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is highly subjected to variability. In this way, the consumer is not able to perceive a price of reference. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this topic, trying to define a range suitable for the selling of EVOO. Design/methodology/approach A mathematical model is applied to the three price levels (i.e. production, intermediate and selling). It studies the relationship among main variables: purchase cost of olives, the production cost of olive oil, the yield of olives obtained by the technological process and the profit margin. To define the input data, 25 producers of olives and 25 owners of olive oil mills are involved. Findings The production of EVOO depends strictly on the production of olives, which typically is subdivided in a year of “high production” and in a year of “low production.” The price of EVOO is subjected to a great variability; however, it is possible to propose a range that varies from €7.0 per liter to €8.7 per liter. Research limitations/implications The level of acidity influences significantly the quality of olive oil, and this model has the limit to not analyze the variation of the price in function of this parameter. Originality/value This study is the first to propose a pricing model to evaluate EVOO. The literature section supports this assumption.


Author(s):  
Jordan Frith

The phrase the Internet of things was originally coined in a 1999 presentation about attaching radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to individual objects. These tags would make the objects machine-readable, uniquely identifiable, and, most importantly, wirelessly communicative with infrastructure. This chapter evaluates RFID as a piece of mobile communicative infrastructure, and it examines two emerging forms: near-field communication (NFC) and Bluetooth low-energy beacons. The chapter shows how NFC and Bluetooth low-energy beacons may soon move some types of RFID to smartphones, in this way evolving the use of RFID in payment and transportation and enabling new practices of post-purchasing behaviors.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 368
Author(s):  
Paula Garcia-Oliveira ◽  
Cecilia Jimenez-Lopez ◽  
Catarina Lourenço-Lopes ◽  
Franklin Chamorro ◽  
Antia Gonzalez Pereira ◽  
...  

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is one of the most distinctive ingredients of the Mediterranean diet. There are many properties related to this golden ingredient, from supreme organoleptic characteristics to benefits for human health. EVOO contains in its composition molecules capable of exerting bioactivities such as cardio protection, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer activity, among others, mainly caused by unsaturated fatty acids and certain minor compounds such as tocopherols or phenolic compounds. EVOO is considered the highest quality vegetable oil, which also implies a high sensory quality. The organoleptic properties related to the flavor of this valued product are also due to the presence of a series of compounds in its composition, mainly some carbonyl compounds found in the volatile fraction, although some minor compounds such as phenolic compounds also contribute. However, these properties are greatly affected by the incidence of certain factors, both intrinsic, such as the olive variety, and extrinsic, such as the growing conditions, so that each EVOO has a particular flavor. Furthermore, these flavors are susceptible to change under the influence of other factors throughout the oil's shelf-life, such as oxidation or temperature. This work offers a description of some of the most remarkable compounds responsible for EVOO’s unique flavor and aroma, the factors affecting them, the mechanism that lead to the degradation of EVOO, and how flavors can be altered during the shelf-life of the oil, as well as several strategies suggested for the preservation of this flavor, on which the quality of the product also depends.


2021 ◽  
Vol 141 ◽  
pp. 322-329
Author(s):  
Jihed Faghim ◽  
Mbarka Ben Mohamed ◽  
Mohamed Bagues ◽  
Kamel Nagaz ◽  
Tebra Triki ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 606-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dani Dordevic ◽  
Ivan Kushkevych ◽  
Simona Jancikova ◽  
Sanja Cavar Zeljkovic ◽  
Michal Zdarsky ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study was to simulate olive oil use and to monitor changes in the profile of fatty acids in home-made preparations using olive oil, which involve repeated heat treatment cycles. The material used in the experiment consisted of extra virgin and refined olive oil samples. Fatty acid profiles of olive oil samples were monitored after each heating cycle (10 min). The outcomes showed that cycles of heat treatment cause significant (p < 0.05) differences in the fatty acid profile of olive oil. A similar trend of differences (p < 0.05) was found between fatty acid profiles in extra virgin and refined olive oils. As expected, the main differences occurred in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Cross-correlation analysis also showed differences between the fatty acid profiles. The most prolific changes were observed between the control samples and the heated (at 180°C) samples of refined olive oil in PUFAs, though a heating temperature of 220°C resulted in similar decrease in MUFAs and PUFAs, in both extra virgin and refined olive oil samples. The study showed differences in fatty acid profiles that can occur during the culinary heating of olive oil. Furthermore, the study indicated that culinary heating of extra virgin olive oil produced results similar to those of the refined olive oil heating at a lower temperature below 180°C.


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