The purpose of this paper is to analyse the perception of environmental attributes and food safety in Italy and Spain and how these different perceptions influence the importance of various attributes and certifications related to food. These two countries have a common root and some undeniable similarities, but there are two completely distinct individualities. Three main research questions have, thus, been identified: attention to food safety regarding Italian and Spanish consumers; the role of ecological certifications in the perception of health in the two countries; the role of the brand and the choice of organic products in the perception of food safety. To answer the research questions, a questionnaire was administered, face to face, to a sample of both Spanish consumers and Italian consumers. The analysis of the data collected through the questionnaires was administered using two logistic regressions to identify which variables influence issues concerning the health and safety of food products. A Spanish consumer interested in ecological certifications is also a consumer who is attentive to the safety and health of food consumption. Looking at Italian consumers, it is highly probable that a consumer who assesses ecological certifications positively is also a consumer concerned about food safety, but this probability increases the likelihood this consumer’s choices are guided by brands and frequent consumption of organic products. This research has allowed us to highlight sharp differences in the approach to consumption in these two countries, which, despite similar cultures and the same sensitivity to environmental and food safety issues, exhibit marked differences in the selection of food products.

This work aims to investigate whether and for which products the Campania region, as compared to other Italian regions, has managed to exploit the opportunities resulting from the gradual opening of MTC (Mediterranean third countries) markets which took place following the 1995 Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona. The results obtained through the use of a relative specialisation index show that Campania, compared to other Italian regions, enjoys a competitive advantage resulting from relative specialisation in the sale of processed and preserved fruit and vegetables and of bakery and flour products on MTC markets. Of great interest is the result, that the performance recorded by Campania with reference to the MTCs regarding the production of processed and preserved fruit and vegetables did not entail the repositioning of the same region on other European markets. Ultimately, the results highlight a strong specialisation and competitiveness of Campania in the production of processed and preserved fruit and vegetables and how the region has managed to fully exploit the gradual opening of MTC markets positioning itself on the markets and without being affected by the other main markets of MTC competition.

Consumers are affected by market imperfections which may stem from the lack of information they have at the time of purchase. This sometimes leads them to make choices based on the quality perception of a product without having the possibility to reach the desired level of food safety. There is considerable information asymmetry between producer and consumer and despite the recent EC Regulation No. 1169/2011 on the provision of information to consumers on food, there remain blind spots in the information problem which has been widely debated in the literature. The empirical analysis is aimed at finding, in the sample of N=222 cases, clusters of homogeneous consumers with respect to the 28 selected variables. In particular, the objective is to evaluate the level of attention towards food safety attributes, the factors that affect the iunderstanding of the level of food safety and the importance of the brand to identify a product as safe.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore food safety attitudes among a sample of Spanish consumers and determine which variables, among those studied, most affect the probability of the consumer being attentive to food safety. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted using a logit model. From the questionnaire 20 binary category variables were identified. Having selected the variable “Are you worried about safety food” as a dependent variable, the authors used binary logistic regression (Aldrich and Nelson, 1984; Borooah, 2002) to ascertain in what way the remaining 19 variables affect the likelihood of the consumer being particularly attentive to the healthiness and safety of food purchased. Findings The probability of the consumer being particularly attentive to food healthiness and safety, for the sample in question, is higher in consumers who stated that they were familiar with organic products, those who are attentive to fat contents in foods and those who value the presence of quality certification positively. Research limitations/implications Future research into Spanish consumers with the same methodology should target a larger sample in several Spanish cities. Originality/value This paper investigates not only Spanish consumer attitudes to food safety, but also how other variables can influence the probability of the consumer being concerned about food safety. This approach may be very useful for food companies to determine what strategies to adopt to attract the category of consumers who lend special importance to the food safety variable in their purchases.

BACKGROUNDGiven the epidemic proportions and economic costs associated with nutrition related diseases in Western countries, an empirical study was carried-out between September and December 2014 in Campania, the Italian region with the highest prevalence of obese children.METHODSThe survey was conducted in a secondary school and involved 145 children, aged 11 to 14, and their parents, with the ultimate aim of studying the relationship between the behaviour of parents regarding the use of nutrition labels, the attention to product quality and the body weight of their children.RESULTSThe results from our study showed that unhealthy diet concerned stems from the misguided food choices of their parents, who are responsible for their children's dietary habits, lifestyle and body weight.CONCLUSIONIn order to incentivise adults and young people to change their food choices and eating behaviour in favour of healthy and sustainable lifestyles, some useful measures could involve the improvement of political marketing and advertising, labelling clarity and better information and awareness campaigns to do sport and eat healthily. Finally some recent patents related to healthy reformulated food products and communication strategies, with specific regard to healthy eating, have been reviewed.

The aim of this research paper is to analyse the Italian pasta market with a specific focus on the competitive strategies played by different brands. We applied a theoretical approach to statistical data from preeminent sources. For each company, we calculated an index in order to infer the price elasticity. From the results, we deduced that for some of the companies analysed, the value assumed by the index has led to a cross price elasticity rather than own price elasticity. For these companies, the economic results are influenced mainly by the competitors’ price policies rather than from their own price policies. That indicator I·, whose calculation is straightforward, is able to relate the variation of quantities sold to the variations of sales revenues. This is an index of strength or vulnerability of each company that gives a measure of competition. The effectiveness of the non-price strategies will be undoubtedly reflected on the parameter I·.