Influence of Food Safety Concerns and Satisfaction with Government Regulation on Organic Food Consumption of Chinese Urban Residents

A study of the purchase intention of alternative foods

Environmental pollution has drawn widespread attention to food safety. People are becoming more conscious of their health and the sustainable development of food, and are setting higher standards for food safety, which have led to the development of better alternatives to food. In this study, we examine the willingness of college students to buy alternative foods and the factors that influence their purchase decisions, as well as the sustainable development of alternative products. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between social influence, food safety, nutrition confidence, exercise commitment, dietary habits, satisfaction, attitude, and purchase intention. We conducted a survey among 799 college students. According to the study, social influence, food safety, and dietary habits greatly influence the satisfaction, attitude, and purchase intention of college students when purchasing alternative food. Attitude and purchase intention are positively correlated with satisfaction. Moreover, nutritional confidence and attitude are significant predictors of purchase intentions. The findings of this study supplement the research of college students on the factors that influence the selection of insect foods as alternative foods within the context of frequent food shortages and safety concerns. To assist farmers, producers, consumers, and extension personnel in making informed decisions, we provide relevant information on factors affecting the supply and demand of alternative food.

The Impact of Rural Alimentation on the Motivation and Retention of Indigenous Community Health Workers in India: A Qualitative Study

Background

Rural health care delivery remains a global challenge and India is no exception, particularly in regions with Indigenous populations such as the state of Jharkhand. The Community Health Centres in Jharkhand, India, are staffed by Indigenous workers who play a crucial role in bridging the health care gap. However, their motivation and retention in these challenging areas are often influenced by a complex mix of sociocultural and environmental factors. One such significant but understudied influencing factor is alimentation, or nutrition, in rural settings. Previous studies have identified several motivators, including community ties, cultural alignment, job satisfaction, and financial incentives. However, the role of alimentation in their motivation and retention in rural areas has not been sufficiently explored.

Objective

This study aims to explore how the strong bond with locally produced food products impacts the retention of Indigenous community health workers (CHWs) in Jharkhand, India, and shed light on a crucial aspect of rural health care workforce sustainability.

Methods

This study adopted a phenomenological research design to explore the lived experiences and perspectives of Indigenous CHWs in Jharkhand. A purposive sampling method was used to select CHWs who had worked in rural areas for at least five years. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, focusing on the participants' experiences of rural alimentation and how it influences their motivation and retention for rural health care. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify common themes and patterns in their experiences related to nutrition and retention.

Results

The study revealed that rural alimentation plays a significant role in both the motivation and retention of CHWs in Jharkhand. CHWs who experienced consistent access to local food reported higher job satisfaction, better physical well-being, and a stronger commitment to their roles. It has also been perceived that consuming nutrient-dense food products decreases the risk of chronic illness among rural populations. Additionally, community support systems related to alimentation were found to be crucial in maintaining motivation, with many CHWs emphasizing the importance of local food availability and cultural ties. The findings suggest that improving access to organic nutrition can positively influence the retention of CHWs in rural areas.

Conclusions

Indigenous communities have unique food habits and preferences deeply rooted in agriculture and arboriculture. Their traditional eating practices are integral to their rich cultural heritage, with significant social, symbolic, and spiritual importance. This study highlights the critical role of rural alimentation in motivating and retaining CHWs in rural Community Health Centres in Jharkhand. Therefore, addressing organic versus conventional food in rural health care policies plays a vital role in improving the retention rates of CHWs. By recognizing the interconnectedness of nutrition and workforce sustainability, health care systems can better support Indigenous CHWs and continue delivering health care services.

Will Food Safety Incidents Stimulate the Public's Desire for Food Safety Governance?

This paper, grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model and event system theory, examines the mechanisms through which public recognition-specifically novel, disruptive, and critical recognition-of the intensity of food safety incidents influences willingness to engage in food safety governance. Risk perception is identified as a mediating variable, while risk communication serves as a moderating variable. Based on survey data, the study found that various forms of public recognition significantly impact governance willingness. Furthermore, risk perception plays a crucial mediating role, and risk communication has a notable moderating effect on the relationship between risk perception and food safety governance willingness. These findings illuminate the intrinsic connection between public recognition of food safety incidents and governance willingness, offering robust theoretical support and practical guidance for enhancing food safety governance. This research contributes to the ongoing improvement and optimization of food safety governance systems.

A study of the influence of the stability of the population's income and expenditure on the development of restaurant chains

This study examines the connection between the income of Chinese residents and the expansion of restaurant chains from 2005 to 2021. It employs multiple methodologies, such as an evaluation index system, the entropy value method, and the coupled coordination degree model. There are sixteen indicators divided into two groups: residents' income and expenditures, and restaurant chain expansion. The analysis reveals the following trends: instability from 2005 to 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis; regional disparities from 2010 to 2014; and coordinated development from 2015 to 2021 as a result of government policies that stimulate domestic demand. This research contributes to strategic planning and decision-making in the hotel, catering, and tourism industries by assessing the effect of Chinese residents' stable income and expenditures on restaurant chains.

Health-driven mechanism of organic food consumption: A structural equation modelling approach

The COVID-19 pandemic seriously threatened human survival and development. It has also highlighted the significant correlation between ecological and public health. After three years of the COVID pandemic, Chinese consumers have become more aware of the importance of health. Especially in the Internet era, consumers' purchasing methods and health awareness have been changed. Consumers can buy nutritious and organic foods. To understand the impact of consumer psychology and health beliefs on the willingness to purchase organic food in the post-pandemic period, this study uses organic beef as an example and extracts key variables from three basic theories. The three basic theories include the Health Belief Model (HBM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Norm Activation Model (NAM), respectively. Specifically, perceived susceptibility and severity are combined to form a health belief variable that can drive organic food purchasing. In contrast, perceived benefit, moral norms, self-efficiency, and controllability are introduced as mediating variables to construct the health driving factors of organic beef purchasing. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and mediation effect tests are used to analyse 539 samples. Meanwhile, paths and mechanisms between health concern and other variables are explored. The results show that health concern is an important driving factor. Health concern can significantly promote the formation of willingness to purchase organic beef. Mediation effect tests suggest that health concern can indirectly affect the willingness to purchase organic beef through perceived benefit, moral norms, and controllability, but the mediation effect of self-efficiency is not significant. This study provides important references for government regulation and certification of organic foods as well as for enterprises'organic food marketing strategies.

Research on the Impact of Consumer Experience Satisfaction on Green Food Repurchase Intention

With the continuous improvement in people's living standards and the change in consumption concept, green food is favored by more and more consumers. Consumer repurchase behavior is a necessary condition to activate the market, expand the consumption scale and stabilize the continuous growth of the market. Repurchase intention is the most direct factor affecting consumers' green food repurchase intention. Therefore, it is necessary to study consumers green food repurchase intentions. This study collects data from 303 consumer surveys on green food consumption to explore the impact of consumer satisfaction with consumption experience on green food repurchase intention and further explore the mechanisms and influence boundaries. The results show that (1) consumer experience satisfaction positively affects green food repurchase intention; (2) consumer experience satisfaction can improve consumers' green food repurchase intention through consumer perceptions of social value, green self-efficacy and warm glow; (3) the higher the degree of consumer inertia, the stronger the influence of green self-efficacy and warm glow on consumers' green food repurchase intention; and (4) the higher the degree of consumer subjective norms, the stronger the influence of consumer perceived social value, green self-efficacy and warm glow on the consumer's green food repurchase intention. This study provides a new perspective and theoretical framework for promoting consumers' green food repurchase intention, and it may have certain theoretical significance and practical impact on green food market growth, sustainable carrying of the ecological environment and high-quality development of agriculture.

Analysis of Cross-Regional Transfer of Food Safety Risks and Its Influencing Factors-An Empirical Study of Five Provinces in East China

The cross-regional transfer of food safety risks has become more prominent, bringing new challenges to food safety regulation. This study used a social network analysis to delve into the nuanced features and determinants of the cross-regional transfer of food safety risks based on the food safety inspection data of five provinces in East China from 2016 to 2020, thus contributing to the establishment of effective cross-regional cooperation in food safety regulation. The main findings are as follows: First, the cross-regional transfer of unqualified products accounts for 36.09% of all unqualified products. Second, the food safety risk transfer network presents a typical complex network-a relatively low but increasing network density, heterogeneous nodes, numerous subgroups, and a dynamic structure-bringing more difficulties to food safety cross-regional cooperation. Third, territorial regulation and intelligent supervision both contribute to restricting cross-regional transfers. However, the advantages of intelligent supervision have not yet been brought into play due to low data utilization. Fourth, the development of the food industry helps to mitigate the cross-regional transfer of food safety risks. To achieve effective cross-regional cooperation in food safety risks, it is essential to use food safety big data as a guide and to maintain synchronization between the development of the food industry and the improvement of regulations.

Quality and Nutritional Parameters of Food in Agri-Food Production Systems

Organic farming is a production system that avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic agricultural inputs such as pesticides, growth regulators, highly soluble mineral fertilisers, supplements, preservatives, flavouring, aromatic substances and genetically modified organisms, and their products. This system aims to maintain and increase soil fertility and quality, and relies on systems such as crop rotation, polyculture, intercropping, ecosystem management, covering crops, legumes, organic and bio-fertilisers, mechanical cultivation and biological control methods. The present review summarises and evaluates research comparing the quality of traditionally, organically and conventionally produced foods. In some cases, although the results of the studies contradict each other, organically grown in vegetables, especially berries and fruits are slightly higher dry matter, minerals such as P, Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn, vitamin C, sugars, carotenoids, antioxidant activity, phenolic and flavonoid compounds. In addition, their sensory properties are more pleasant. The nutritional content, quality and safety of organic foods are acceptable if the recent trends are reviewed, tested and verified. Therefore, the aim of this review is to compile, describe and update scientific evidence and data on the quality, safety, bioactive compounds and nutritional and phytochemical quality of foods in traditional and organic fruit, vegetable and cereal production systems.

Socioeconomic Characteristics, Purchasing Preferences and Willingness to Consume Organic Food: A Cross-Location Comparison of Nine Cities in Central Ecuador

Agriculture worldwide faces the need to reduce chemical pesticides and produce healthier food. In Latin America, research on the organic food sector primarily focuses on supply. Consumption analysis is crucial for providing information about customers' needs. This paper aims to analyze the Ecuadorian organic food sector, which is an interesting case for investigating the relationship between willingness to consume organic food and socioeconomic factors. To this end, 382 consumers were surveyed. The study applied a logit regression analysis to assess the role of socioeconomic factors in the willingness to consume organic food. Radar diagrams depict the percentage of respondents who checked a particular reason for choosing or refusing organic food. A cross-location comparison analysis was applied to identify differences between locations within the Central Ecuador region. Results reveal that Ecuadorian consumers' awareness rate of organic food is only 53.5%. Regarding organic food's price, 24% of consumers perceive it to be overly expensive. Based on strengthening the supervision of organic food production, various channels should be used to promote organic food consumption and facilitate the recognition of available organic food.