Consumer Preferences and Welfare Evaluation under Current Food Inspection Measures in China: Evidence from Real Experiment Choice of Rice Labels

Abstract

Frequent food quality and safety issues result in various food inspection measures in China, while some are not widely acknowledged by the public and are less efficient. Consumer demand is significant for priority setting in food policy. This study investigates Chinese consumers' heterogeneous preferences for selected food inspection measures and estimates welfare effects based on willingness-to-pay (WTP) calculation. Rice consumption data from a 2018 nationwide consumer survey designed using the real choice experiment is analyzed by the random parameters logit and the latent class model. The findings reveal that consumers place a high value on government certification, and brand is valuable especially when public management is perceived as weak. However, the insufficient market demand for third-party certification may increase transaction costs due to overlapping functions and consumers' distrust. Moreover, there should be a need to broaden consumers' understanding of traceability and grading systems. This study emphasizes the necessity of direct governmental involvement and the existence of unnecessary policy cost.Sustainability 2018, 10, 4003 2 of 15 by the public and are less efficient for reducing information asymmetries. Since consumers are the main beneficiaries of enhanced food management systems, what consumers prefer in a demand-oriented market may drive the focus of public policy-making and the food suppliers' operating decisions.Much attention regarding consumer preferences and WTP focused on livestock and aquaculture, ranging from certification, traceability, and quality grading systems [4-6] to country-of-origin, local and ecological labels [7][8][9]. However, few studies were dedicated to analyzing plant products. Compared to animal products, plant products in China are consumed with larger quantity and higher frequency, among of which rice is likely to be the most typical plant product that faces serious food quality and safety issues. A rough estimate based on the China Statistical Yearbook 2017 [10] and the Chinese Nutrition and Health Status 2004 indicates that rice is the most frequently-consumed staple for at least two-thirds of the Chinese urban population. Rice consumption areas in China are mainly: the 15 provinces of

Urban Consumer Trust and Food Certifications in China

“…This could be due to rice being the staple food in China; therefore, consumers have considerable familiarity with this kind of food. As mentioned previously [ 68 ], plant products in China are consumed in larger quantities and at higher frequencies, among of which rice is likely to be the most typical plant product that faces serious food quality and safety issues. The foods where the certification logos were least related to the perception of safety were fish and milk.…”

Profiting from Green Innovation: The Moderating Effect of Competitive Strategy

“…A cost-leadership strategy may also potentially reduce the benefits gained from green process innovation, since cost-leaders engage in fewer activities of communicating their green images in the market [30]. We suggest that firms which adopt cost-leadership strategies can gain support from stakeholders by achieving certification by third-party auditors [72]. For example, Terlaak and King [73] found that ISO 14001 can be a signal of environmental responsibility which helps firms benefit from their improved green production processes.…”

Perceived Knowledge, Coping Efficacy and Consumer Consumption Changes in Response to Food Recall

“…Currently, the government, mainly the CFDA and its subordinates, have imposed comprehensive supervision of the food supply chain. In China, most food safety problems are found in food safety sampling inspection, spot checking, specialized inspection, and unannounced inspection by the government [39,48]. Therefore, the government and third parties should strengthen their supervision over the food supply chain, issue strict regulations and standards, conduct strict food safety inspections, and levy more severe punishments for irregularities [12,48].…”