European Consumers Attitudes toward Ethnic Foods: Case of Date Fruits

Exploring the Relationship Between Socio-Demographic Factors and Consumers' Perception of Food Promotions in Romania

In the context of economic crises and inflationary pressures, consumers often rely on discounted food products to manage their monthly budgets. This study aims to explore how socio-demographic factors are associated with Romanian consumers' perception of food promotions. Data were collected from 1060 respondents, and the analysis was conducted using R version 4.4.2, applying both descriptive and inferential statistical methods, including Pearson's chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression. The Pearson's chi-square test revealed significant differences in consumer responses based on all socio-demographic factors examined, except for residence. Males, married individuals, those with higher education, and higher net incomes were generally more cautious about promotions, while younger consumers (aged 18-24) showed greater receptiveness. The multinomial logistic regression further identified significant predictors and estimated their impact on consumers' perception of food promotions. We found that gender, marital status, education level, and age were strong predictors, while income had only a quadratic impact, and residence showed no statistically significant outcome. These findings offer valuable insights for shaping marketing strategies and highlight the role of socio-demographic factors in shaping consumer perceptions toward food promotions.

The fate of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in the pulp of eight native Brazilian and exotic fruits

Despite the wide variety of native and exotic fruits in Brazil, there is limited understanding of their ability to support pathogens during storage. This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes inoculated into the pulp of eight fruits native and exotic to Brazil: Jenipapo (Genipa americana L.), Umbu (Spondias tuberosa Arruda), Maná (Solanum sessiliflorum), Cajá-manga (Spondias dulcis), Physalis (Physalis angulata L.), Feijoa (Acca sellowiana), Cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum) (average pH < 3.3) and in a low acidy fruit: Abiu (Pouteria caimito) (pH 6.11). The pathogens were inoculated into the different fruits and stored at 10, 20, 30 and 37 °C for up to 12 h and 6 days, respectively. Among the fruits evaluated, Abiu was the only one that allowed Salmonella growth, showing higher δ-values at 20 and 30 °C (5.6 log CFU/g for both temperatures). For Physalis and Feijoa, there was a small reduction in the pathogen concentration (<1 log-cycle), mainly at 10 and 20 °C, indicating its ability to remain in the matrices. For the other fruits, notable negative δ-values were obtained, indicating a tendency towards microbial inactivation. The survival potential was significantly affected by temperature in Abiu, Maná, Cupuaçu, and Cajá-manga (p < 0.05). The same phenomena regarding δ-value were observed for L. monocytogenes population, with the greatest survival potential observed at 20 °C in Abiu (3.3 log CFU/g). Regarding the exponential growth rates in Abiu, the highest values were observed at 30 and 37 °C, both for Salmonella (4.6 and 4.9 log (CFU/g)/day, respectively) and for L. monocytogenes (2.8 and 2.7 log (CFU/g)/day, respectively), with no significant difference between both temperatures. Regarding microbial inactivation, L. monocytogenes showed greater resistance than Salmonella in practically all matrices. Jenipapo and Umbu were the pulps that, in general, had the greatest effect on reducing the population of pathogens. Furthermore, the increase in storage temperature seems to favor the increase on inactivation rates. In conclusion, Salmonella and L. monocytogenes can grow only in Abiu pulp, although they can survive in some acidic tropical fruits kept at refrigeration and abusive temperatures.

Abstract or concrete? The impact of regional typicality and advertising appeal types on consumption intention toward geographical indication products

The essential characteristic of geographical indication products is the association of the products with their region of origin. However, consumers have different associations between products and their region of origin (i.e., different regional typicality) according to different geographical indication products. In this regard, this research aims to explore how to adopt supporting advertising appeal types to improve consumers' attitudes and intentions toward geographical indication products with different regional typicality. To this end, this article proposes and tests the interaction between regional typicality and advertising appeal types on consumption intention toward products and the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of this effect. Using three studies, this research finds that the adoption of abstract (vs. concrete) appeal is more likely to enhance consumption intention toward products when the geographical indication products have high regional typicality. Moreover, the reverse is true when the geographical indication products have low regional typicality. Furthermore, the results show that processing fluency mediates the interaction effect. In addition, the high (low) regional typicality and abstract (concrete) appeal on consumption intention toward products are more significant in the distant (close) spatial distance condition. In this way, this research provides a new perspective for studying consumer behavior with respect to geographical indication products and has implications for promoting the sales of geographical indication products and enhancing the brand value of geographical indication.

Purchasing decisions on date palm fruits: A quantitative analysis of the Khalas cultivar

This study examines the attributes of date palm fruits that influence consumer purchasing decisions and measures the attributes' relative importance weights for understanding consumption patterns relative to the cultivation areas. A case study was conducted for a selected date fruit, Khalas, which is cultivated in Saudi Arabia and ranked first in the world in exported dates. Our empirical investigation is based on utilizing a proposed quantitative analysis that integrated the entropy weighting method and binary logit models. With this survey design, 486 questionnaires were collected. Analysis results revealed a ranking list of preferred attributes, with size, mellowness, price, and color being the most valued. However, this ranking list fluctuates when different cultivated types of Khalas dates are available. The results also showed that consumption patterns may change in terms of preference index and shopping location. The paper concludes with a discussion of managerial implications, limitations, and future research directions.