Can information drive demand for safer food? Impact of brand‐specific recommendations and test results on product choice

Abstract

As an unobservable attribute, food safety is likely to be under‐provided by markets where regulatory enforcement is weak. In such settings, stimulating consumer demand for safer food can potentially encourage market actors to invest in food safety. Through a randomized trial in Kenya, we test the impact of informing consumers about which maize flour brands are most likely to comply with the regulatory standard for aflatoxin, a carcinogenic fungal byproduct. Providing information on safer brands alone does not significantly affect consumption behavior. However, when the same information is combined with a test performed on the maize flour stocked by the household, the likelihood that a safer brand is consumed 2 months later is 76% higher than in the comparison group. Our findings suggest that providing information on the relative riskiness of substitute foods could encourage consumers to make safer choices.

Food safety, reputation, and regulation

“…5 Moreover, as noted by Kariuki and Hoffmann (2021), surveys (stated choice experiments) and laboratory studies may both be biased by experimenter demand effects (see De Quidt et al, 2018;De Quidt et al, 2019). Two recent articles (Hoffmann, Moser, & Herrman, 2021;Kariuki & Hoffmann, 2021) avoid these concerns and provide evidence on demand for aflatoxin-safe maize in Kenya using randomized control trials (RCTs). 6 Kariuki and Hoffmann (2021) gave households information about the negative relationship between aflatoxin levels and the price of maize flour, and the names of two brands most likely to comply with the regulatory standard; and offered some households the opportunity to have their maize flour tested for aflatoxin.…”

How Perspectives on Food Safety of Vendors and Consumers Translate into Food-Choice Behaviors in 6 African and Asian Countries

“…Consumers attributed increases in disease prevalence to food-safety concerns, such as chemicals, contaminants, and adulteration, rather than concerns related to the nutritional content of the packaged food [ 6 ]. Barriers associated with purchasing safe food products included affordability [ [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] ], availability [ 7 , 9 , 11 , 12 ], and the effectiveness of institutions regulating food safety [ 8 , 13 ].…”

Information and the Trade-Off between Food Safety and Food Security in Rural Markets: Experimental Evidence from Malawi

“…Providing information on aflatoxins has been shown to increase demand for maize flour in Kenya (Hoffmann, Moser, et al, 2021), particularly when an aflatoxins-free certification is provided (Kariuki & Hoffmann, 2019). De Groote et al (2016 also analyzed the impact of providing information about aflatoxins on rural consumers' willingness to pay for maize of different quality grades.…”