Abstract
This study examined whether health cues influence the choices of olive oil consumers with different degrees of knowledge about the nutritional properties of olive oil. To this end, a direct survey on the consumption of healthy extra-virgin olive oil was implemented by examining the stated preferences of a sample of consumers. Two econometric analyses were carried out to identify the drivers of the consumption of olive oil with high polyphenol content. The logistic model was chosen as the most suitable method to answer the research questions. The results revealed a general consensus among consumers regarding the beneficial properties of olive oil consumption. Moreover, the findings show that different degrees of individual knowledge act as distinctive drivers in influencing the health perception of olive oil consumers. Finally, this study verified that, even for healthy foods, consumers’ choices are strongly dependent on their own self-coherence. As a consequence, consumers’ knowledge or beliefs that orientate their attitudes are influenced by different motivations and attributes.
Highlights
Despite the wide consensus among nutritionists, biologists, doctors, and nutraceutical experts on the meaning of the term ‘healthy’, consumers do not always associate this term with food or fully understand its meaning in reference to food [1]
Nutritional knowledge [5,26] and the perception of the health of olive oil [14,22] have been found to be positively influenced by education, gender, income, and health status, studies on subjective knowledge have pointed out the inconsistent relationship with socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education, and income [13], we only found the age and the regional origin of consumers to be significant
There is no shared and univocal view on the influence of label information on the consumption of olive oil, our findings reveal that label information is only important for uninformed consumers, since it is positively correlated with a healthy product
Summary
Despite the wide consensus among nutritionists, biologists, doctors, and nutraceutical experts on the meaning of the term ‘healthy’, consumers do not always associate this term with food or fully understand its meaning in reference to food [1]. Consumers perceive the healthiness of food solely in relation to its nutritional content [1]. The perceived healthiness of food tends to decrease in the presence of high sodium content or additives, fats, and carbohydrates [2]. Healthiness is a highly popular topic among consumers and the use of the term is regulated by the European Commission, which associates it with ‘functional’ food. Consumers perceive the term ‘healthy’ in a subjective manner. Scholars and researchers have paid significant attention to health claims, and particular emphasis has been placed on labels reporting the nutrition and healthiness of foods [4,5,6], that aim to allow consumers to better identify
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