Using data collected from a survey conducted in Jiangsu Province, China, we study consumer perceptions of and attitudes toward food traceability systems (FTS). Through econometric analysis, we examine the main factors that influence the willingness of consumers to pay a price premium for certified traceable food, as well as the actual premium these consumers are willing to bear. Our results indicate that an overwhelming majority of consumers in China are concerned about food safety, but consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) a price premium for certified traceable food is limited. Income, education, perception of and attitudes toward FTS, as well as the degree of concern over food safety, have significant effects on the consumer's WTP a price premium for certified traceable food. However, the effects of these factors on the actual premium a consumer is willing to pay are quite different. Conditioned on the consumer being willing to pay a positive price premium, income level and the degree of concern over food safety are the only two factors that have significant effects on the actual premium consumers are willing to pay. À partir de données tirées d’un sondage mené dans la province du Jiangsu, en Chine, nous avons étudié la perception et l’attitude des consommateurs envers les systèmes de traçabilité des aliments. À l’aide d’analyses économétriques, nous avons examiné les principaux facteurs qui influencent le consentement des consommateurs à payer un prix supérieur pour des aliments dont la traçabilité est certifiée ainsi que le prix réel qu’ils sont prêts à payer. Les résultats de notre étude indiquent qu’une très grande majorité de consommateurs en Chine sont préoccupés par la sécurité alimentaire, mais que leur consentement à payer un prix supérieur pour des aliments dont la traçabilité est certifiée est limité. Le revenu, le niveau de scolarité, la perception et l’attitude envers les systèmes de traçabilité, de même que le degré de préoccupation concernant la sécurité alimentaire, ont des effets considérables sur le consentement des consommateurs à payer un prix supérieur pour des aliments dont la traçabilité est certifiée. Toutefois, les effets de ces facteurs sur le prix réel qu’un consommateur est prêt à payer sont très différents. Lorsque des consommateurs consentent à payer un prix supérieur, le niveau de revenu et le degré de préoccupation concernant la sécurité alimentaire sont les deux seuls facteurs qui influencent fortement le prix réel qu’ils sont prêts à payer.

Based on the results, it is proposed that the Chinese government pay attention to the mentality of its citizens when establishing an FTS and take measures to lift consumers' willingness to pay for CT food. Results of this study will provide valuable insights to developing countries.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper with pork as a case is to analyze Chinese consumer preference and demand for traceable food attributes, in order to provide a useful reference for Chinese Government in developing the safe food market and preventing food safety risks. Design/methodology/approach This research surveyed 1,380 consumers in seven pilot cities that designated by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for the construction of a meat and vegetable circulation traceability system. A choice-based conjoint analysis and multinomial logit model were used to study consumer preferences and demand for traceable pork attributes. Findings The results demonstrated that certification of traceable information was the most important characteristic, followed by appearance and traceable information. Significant heterogeneity was obtained in consumer preferences for the attributes of traceable pork. Also, consumers’ preferences for traceable attributes were memorably influenced by age, education level, and income level. Social implications Based on these results, the government should encourage and support the production of traceable food with different certification types and different traceability levels. Meanwhile, the development of food traceability systems should be combined with a quality certification labeling system. Originality/value This study extends the applicability of the setting of traceable food attributes and levels in China, and it will improve Chinese food traceability systems through multilateral cooperation.

This paper proposes a high-capacity scheme for reversible data hiding (RDH) in encrypted images. The proposed scheme is based on a new preprocessing method by bit plane partition. Specifically, the values in the less significant bit planes are reversibly hidden into the other bit planes. Consequently, the room in the less significant bit planes can be vacated to generate a preprocessed image, from which the original image can be recovered by extracting the hidden bit values and writing them back. After encrypting the preprocessed image with a stream cipher, the vacated room can be used to accommodate extra data, which can be retrieved without image decryption. In addition, the embedding capacity can be further increased by adopting an efficient most significant bit (MSB) prediction method before image encryption. Compared with the state-of-the-art RDH schemes for encrypted images, the experimental results show that higher embedding capacity can be achieved with our proposed one. The numerical results are provided to show the performances of the proposed scheme in different cases of bit-plane partition and MSB prediction.INDEX TERMS Bit plane, prediction, embedding capacity, stream cipher, data hiding.

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PurposeIn September 2008, all of China was shocked by the tainted milk scandal. In order to help the Chinese government to establish a food traceability system (FTS), the authors conducted the present research which aims to investigate the acceptability of certified traceable (CT) food among Chinese consumers.Design/methodology/approachA survey consisting of face‐to‐face interviews with 1,757 consumers from 13 cities in the Jiangsu Province of China was used. The 13 cities fell into three different categories according to their levels of economic development. The acceptance and purchase of CT food were compared and analyzed in the three levels of consumers. The factors affecting consumer unwillingness to purchase CT food were obtained by factor analysis.FindingsAfter the respondents were fully informed about FTS, their acceptance level for CT food significantly increased. The respondents who were willing to buy CT food particularly preferred milk, eggs, and honey as well as meats such as pork, beef, mutton, chicken and duck. Of the total respondents, 68 per cent stated that they would be willing to pay extra for CT food. The main factors affecting consumer unwillingness to buy CT food were: lack of familiarity with CT food and doubt about its function, preference for direct and concise food quality labels, and worries regarding excessively high prices.Practical implicationsUltimately, it is hoped to improve the overall safety of food in China and potentially worldwide. The Chinese government has to ensure the effectiveness of the FTS, to increase public knowledge about the FTS, to allocate government funds for the establishment of a FTS, and to give extra support to underdeveloped regions. These are the key issues that the Chinese government faces in establishing and popularizing the food traceability system.Originality/valueThis paper researched the acceptability of CT food among Chinese consumers and the factors preventing its acceptance. It provides valuable information for developing countries while seeking to raise China's food safety levels.

This study examines how the nature of technology affects users' intention to continue using information technologies. It proposes an extended technology acceptance model, with perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and pleasure affecting the intention to continue using a technology. We hypothesized that these effects are moderated by the technology's utilitarian and hedonic values. The model was validated for smartphone functions. A user survey showed that perceived ease of use significantly affected the intention to continue using only for high-utilitarian functions, whereas pleasure affected the intention to continue using only for high-hedonic functions. The effect of perceived ease of use on perceived usefulness was stronger for high-utilitarian than for low-utilitarian functions. The effect of pleasure on perceived usefulness was stronger for high-hedonic than for low-hedonic functions. The results suggest that marketing should consider the nature of the functions.