The impact of packaging design on the perceived quality of honey by Brazilian consumers

Level of interest among Belgian consumers of the cultural, environmental, ethical, and global benefits of sustainable beekeeping management

This study aimed to explore the consumers' level of interest in environmental, ethical, cultural, and global claims associated with sustainable beekeeping management and identify which factors influence perceptions of sustainable management and honey purchase. 1100 Belgian respondents were surveyed on their honey purchasing behavior and interest in the benefits of sustainable beekeeping management, complemented with socio-demographic questions. The data were evaluated using descriptive, non-parametric and multivariate statistics. The findings indicate that age and honey purchasing habits had a significant effect on the level of interest in the benefits of sustainable beekeeping management. Participants in the late middle-aged group who buy honey displayed greater interest in all the mentioned benefits of sustainable beekeeping practices when compared to their younger counterparts. Early and late middle-aged participants demonstrated a heightened level of interest in environmental claims concerning the advantages of sustainable beekeeping management. This study provides critical insight into consumers' perceptions towards sustainable apiculture and helps to identify environmentally sustainable claims to empower consumers to make conscious and informed choices and protect the environment.

Effects of Different Packaging Types and Storage Periods on Physicochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Honeys

Preserving the nutritional value of honey without compromising its properties until consumption is crucial. However, different types of honey may respond differently to packaging and storage conditions. This study aimed to assess the effects of different packaging materials (tin cans, light-colored glass jars, and dark-colored glass jars) and storage durations (initial, 6 months, and 12 months) on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of pine, flower, and thyme honey. Nine samples were collected to conduct study on the three different types of honey. Honey samples were packaged in these materials and analyzed at the start, after 6 months, and after 12 months. The results showed that the moisture, proline content, sugar, total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels were unaffected by honey type. Over time, there was a decrease in moisture, pH, proline content, diastase number, sugar, total phenolic content (TPC), total antioxidant status (TAS), and catalase activity, alongside an increase in the electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), free acidity, TOS, and OSI levels. The packaging type did not influence the moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, proline content, diastase number, sugar, HMF, TPC, TAS, TOS, OSI, or catalase activity levels. The findings suggest that storing pine, flower, and thyme honey in light- or dark-colored glass jars or tin cans for 12 months does not significantly impact these properties. However, given the reduction in TPC and TAS across all honey types and packaging methods after 12 months, further studies are needed to explore ways to maintain honey quality in this regard.

Why does mobile payment promote purchases? Revisiting the pain of paying, and understanding the implicit pleasure via selective attention

The past years have witnessed a phenomenal growth of the mobile payment market, but how mobile payment affects purchase behavior receives less attention from academics. Recent studies suggested that lower pain of paying may not fully clarify the relationship between mobile payment and increased purchases (i.e., mobile payment effect). The current research first introduced price level in Study 1 and demonstrated that the pain of paying served as an underlying mechanism only in the high-price condition rather than the low-price condition. As such, Study 2 was conducted in a low-price context to address the uncovered mechanisms. We propose a new concept of "pleasure of payment" that is defined as an implicit and consumption-related hedonic response based on the cue theory of consumption. By tracking spontaneous attention to positive attributes (i.e., benefits) of products, Study 2 demonstrated this implicit pleasure as a psychological mechanism for the mobile payment effect when the pain of paying was not at play. These findings have important implications for mobile payment in research and practice by identifying price level as a boundary condition for the role of pain of paying and understanding the positive downstream consequences of mobile payment usage on consumer psychology.

Understanding Italian Consumers' Perception of Safety in Animal Food Products

The concept of food safety is still underexplored among consumers, especially in relationship with the perception of food technology. Through an online survey (n = 489), this study explored: I, how perceived safety is related to products obtained with different technological treatments and described with different commercial information; II, the role of food technology neophobia (FTN) in consumers' safety perception of animal food products. The technological transformation and commercial information significantly affected the perceived safety in all product categories. Milk and eggs were associated with a high number of perceived hazards (with similar patterns), while honey to the lowest. The certification 'organic' positively affected the safety perception of eggs and honey. With the increase of the distance in product origin (local/regional vs. Extra-European) the perceived safety consistently decreased. FTN affected the perceived safety of milk and eggs, depending on the degree of familiarity with the technologies of production. Highly FT neophobic people are perceived as less safe than low FT neophobic people with few familiar products with a higher technological degree of transformation. Results expand the knowledge in people's attitude towards animal products, particularly considering the technology perception. The outputs may interest policy-makers and food companies, in rethinking the communication strategy concerning food safety.

Heavy Metals in Honey Collected from Contaminated Locations: A Case of Lithuania

Honey, as a bioindicator, can be used to determine the level of pollution in the environment with selected pollutants, including heavy metals. Twelve locations were selected for experimental studies near the main sources of pollution: industrial sites, landfills, railways, and highways. The honey samples were burned to ash, and the heavy metals in ashes were determined using aqua regia digestion in the microwave digestion system. The concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Ni) was determined using a Buck Scientific model 210 VGP atomic absorption spectrophotometer with a graphite furnace atomizer and an acetylene-air flame. These median amounts of heavy metals were found in the analyzed honey samples: 0.0030 mg/kg for Cd, 0.0179 mg/kg for Pb, 0.0317 mg/kg for Cr, 0.0999 mg/kg for Cu, and 0.0332 mg/kg for Ni. The obtained results were compared with honey samples research conducted in other countries. It is difficult to compare the level of heavy metal results found in honey from different countries, as the type of honey, soil composition, rainfall, air temperature, the plants from which it was harvested, its vegetation and flowering duration, and the degree of anthropogenic pollution in the area differ. The heavy metal content tested in honey was found to be low, except for the Pb content in one sample of honey, and did not pose a risk to human health. A statistical analysis including average, median, standard deviation, confidence intervals, and Spearman coefficients was performed for the evaluation of the relationships between the heavy metal quantities and the determination of the impact of pollution sources (transport and industry). The correlation analysis showed a strong negative correlation coefficient between heavy metals and distance (r = −0.593 to −0.204).