scholarly journals Consumer Misuse of Country-of-Origin Label: Insights from the Italian Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Market

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.

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.


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.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1677
Author(s):  
Biagi Angelo Zullo ◽  
Giulia Venditti ◽  
Gino Ciafardini

Filtration is a widely used process in the production of extra virgin olive oil. We studied the influence of filtration performed with cotton filters and cellulose filter press on the biotic components of the oily mass containing probiotic traits in two freshly produced monocultivar extra virgin olive oils. The concentration of bacteria was reduced from 100% to 28%, while that of fungi was reduced from 100% to 44% after filtration, according to the filtration system and the initial contamination of the original monocultivar extra virgin olive oil. Compared with the control, the yeast content in the oil samples filtered with cotton filters was reduced from 37% to 11% depending on the cultivar. In the oil filtered with cellulose filter press, the yeast content reduced from 42% to 16%. The viable yeast that passed through the oily mass during the filtration process with cellulose filter press, unlike all the other samples, were unable to survive in the oil after a month of storage. The possible health benefits of compounds from both the biotic and abiotic fraction of the oil, compared to the control, were significantly low when filtered with the cellulose filter press.


Author(s):  
Antonella Maria Aresta ◽  
Nicolella De Vietro ◽  
Maria Lisa Clodoveo ◽  
Riccardo Amirante ◽  
Filomena Corbo ◽  
...  

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 995
Author(s):  
Theodoros Varzakas

The prevention and bioactivity effects associated with the so-called “Mediterranean diet” make olive oil the most consumed edible fat in the food intake of the Mediterranean basin [...]


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document