Digital technologies to remove the information asymmetry in the food market

Abstract

In today's economic system, the quality of food production and the economic efficiency of the markets are closely connected and linked to the growing role of information. We must highlight that in the food market, the safeguarding of safety and the correct transmission of information very often does not go towards protecting consumers. From the point of view of the economic efficiency of the product markets, these elements contribute to creating a sort of functional distortions capable of preventing their correct functioning from the point of view of economic theory and of fueling misunderstandings and information asymmetries. These specific conditions seem to be able to produce disadvantages at the same time for producers (agricultural enterprises and food enterprises) and for consumers in terms of the natural contest of relationships between supply and demand both in markets oriented towards short-term and long-term equilibrium. The research highlights how the modern analysis of the role of information, through digital technology, and the evaluation of the qualitative value of agri-food production can contribute to the improvement of the functional efficiency of agri-food production markets and also reduce the information asymmetries on the question. The results of the study highlight that the Yuka app 'offers a very efficient service that analyzes, by simply scanning the barcode of a food product, the composition of a wide range of foods, drawing on an extremely comprehensive and constantly updated database. This seems particularly important for the positive effects it can have on the food market as it would ensure greater transparency in transactions making the food market more efficient.