Food Labels (Quality, Origin, and Sustainability): The Experience of Czech Producers

Abstract

Food labels allow producers to promote the unique selling points of their products and help consumers buy products with value-adding qualities. The aim of the present article is hence to explore Czech food producers’ expectations and experience with selected food labels. The selection was narrowed down to enterprises that had succeeded in the certification processes within the food labeling systems of European quality and origin labels (protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialty guaranteed (TSG)), as well as schemes that fall under the remit of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, such as Klasa (Česká potravina/Czech food, Regionální potravina/regional food, and BIO). The research was made using an online questionnaire in January–February 2018, and was focused on determining possible discrepancies in expectations that the companies had before applying for quality/origin labels and their actual experience with the labelling systems, the benefits they had gained, and their overall experience with the labels. To compare the respondents’ expectations and their actual experience, both the non-parametric Wilcoxon test and t-test were used. The results show that the respondents positively evaluated the effects of marketing communication, but their expectations had been higher than what they experienced.

Towards a Better Understanding of Nutritional and Therapeutic Effects of Honey and Their Applications in Apitherapy

“…The use of these methods has the advantage to increase the apparent value of honey and decrease its production cost [120], providing the producers with economic gains [250]. However, the disadvantages cannot be ignored, namely the negative impact on the bioactive and curative properties of honey along with the toxic effects that can be observed in human health [248].…”

“…Hence, determining the quality parameters of honey and therefore its expected therapeutic properties requires performing qualified laboratory analyses that can suggest whether a honey variety can meet the required quality conditions for human consumption and apitherapy use. In addition, correct labelling can be viewed as a quality guarantee for consumers and as a sign of origin, authenticity and prestige for producers [250].…”

Sustentabilidad en las Denominaciones de Origen Protegidas (DOP) en la Unión Europea. Aproximaciones desde una revisión sistemática de la literatura

“…It is noteworthy that the most recent studies on sustainability in PDOs, published in 2021, focused on the 'origin' label system in the EU, especially from consumer's perception while acquiring products that, in addition to having a PDO's label, were produced under sustainable agroecological procedures. In this sense, both Chalupová et al (2021) and Spognardi et al (2021) emphasized that labeling products manufactured under certification of the sustainable or organic process could have a positive effect on the consumption level, as it would generate satisfaction in the customers for purchasing quality organic products that are linked to an origin brand. These studies were carried out among Italian consumers and in the Czech Republic market, so this topic seems to be of interest to different producers in the sector.…”

“…In the labeling research in the Czech Republic (Chalupová et al, 2021), the importance of labeling for PDOs was highlighted. The study was conducted using a quantitative methodology and data was obtained through an online survey among food-producing companies that had proved successful while applying food quality and origin labels.…”

Water Balance of the Czech Crop Mix in 1961 – 2019

“…Even thought new approaches as organic farming or buying local products are getting popular they still represent a marginal part of total crop production (Chalupová et al, 2021;Lazíková et al, 2021;Zámková et. al., 2020 andHronovski et al, 2020).…”