A study on Chinese consumer preferences for food traceability information using best-worst scaling

Area of Science:

• Food safety
• Consumer behavior
• Information systems

Background:

• Food safety is a global public health concern exacerbated by information asymmetry between consumers and suppliers.
• Information technology offers solutions, with food traceability platforms seen as crucial for building trust in China.
• Consumer preferences for specific traceability data remain largely unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate Chinese consumer preferences for traceability information across different food types (vegetables, pork, dairy).
• To measure the relative importance consumers assign to various traceable attributes.
• To inform the development of effective food safety information sharing platforms.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the best-worst scaling approach to assess consumer preferences.
• Analyzed consumer priorities for traceability information concerning vegetables, pork, and dairy products.

Main Results:

• Consumer preferences for traceability information vary significantly by food type.
• For vegetables, "Pesticide/veterinary use," "picking/slaughtering date," and "fertilizer/feed use" are most important.
• "Picking/slaughtering date" and "history of illness and taking protective measures" are key for pork.
• "Processing information," "environmental information of the origin," and "traceable tag certification" are preferred for dairy.

Conclusions:

• Government involvement is essential for developing a robust food safety information sharing system.
• Platforms should record diverse traceability data tailored to specific food types based on consumer priorities.
• Implementing new technologies to ensure data reliability and considering local preferences in information delivery are recommended.