Consumer Concern Research Articles

Assessment of pesticide residues in beef feed and meat in Bangladesh: A safety issues

The use of pesticides in agricultural sectors is rising due to the growing demand for food in the world, but the presence of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities has become a major health concern for consumers and is associated with problems of food safety. Pesticides in meats and milk were derived from feeds. The present study was conducted to find the pesticide residue in cattle feed ingredients, commercial beef cattle feed and meat of beef cattle. Commercial beef cattle feed, Heart, kidney, liver, lung and muscle samples of beef cattle were collected from four district of Bangladesh were analyzed by GC-MS (Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) for organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticide residue. There were no organoclhorine and organophosphorus pesticide residues in collected raw materials and commercial beef feed except Saudia and Fresh feed. In case of commercial beef feed. Aldrin was found in Saudia feed and Fresh feed at the level of 77 and 336 µg/kg, respectively. The results indicate that the concentration of aldrin in commercial beef cattle feed named Saudia and Fresh feed were above maximum residue limit (MRL) values (20 µg/kg) set by WHO/FAO. Contaminants existed at different levels in cattle feed of Bangladesh.

Second chance hiring: exploring consumer perception of employers who hire individuals with criminal histories

PurposeMany employers express concern over consumer response to employees with criminal histories. However, consumers' responses may be less negative than employers assume. The authors examine consumers' response to organizations that hire employees with criminal histories.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed participants randomly assigned to one of two conditions: purchasing services from an employer that hires individuals with criminal histories or from an employer whose inclination to hire individuals with criminal histories is unknown. The authors considered four service providers, among which the length of customers' time and involvement with employees varies: a grocery store, restaurant, auto-repair shop, and hotel.FindingsParticipants were no more or less likely to patronize the restaurant, the repair shop, or the grocery store that hired individuals with criminal histories, and no more or less likely to alter their willingness to pay for these services. Consumers were less likely to stay at a hotel that hired employees with criminal histories, but this difference was mitigated when customers were provided with an explanation of the benefits of hiring individuals with criminal histories.Research limitations/implicationsThis study highlights the need for further research on perceptions that limit hiring of individuals with criminal histories and other similarly marginalized populations.Practical implicationsThis research addresses a common justification – consumer concern – for not hiring individuals with criminal histories.Social implicationsIncreased employment improves individual outcomes, such as access to stable housing and food, as well as larger outcomes, such as public safety.Originality/valueThis paper highlights a population often marginalized in the hiring process. The findings challenge a common justification for not hiring individuals with criminal histories.

Pemanfaatan Limbah Organik Pada Budidaya Tanaman Sayuran Menuju Pertanian Yang Ramah Lingkungan di Kabupaten Polewali Mandar

The vegetable crop cultivation in Polewali Mandar Regency has a great opportunity due to the high market demand for vegetable products. Environmental issues are a global concern for the competitiveness of agricultural products. The quality of organic agriculture or environmentally friendly product has become a concern for consumers regarding food safety, health, and long-life habituation . The farming community in Galung Lombok village, Tinambung District, Polewali Mandar Regency depends highly on the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides. On the other hand, harvest waste, household waste and coconut water as a byproduct of coconut processing have not been utilised effectively. Thus, this community service program aimed to utilise household organic waste as organic fertiliser and utilise coconut water as plant growth hormone; as well as educate farmers in implementing environmentally-friendly agricultural businesses. The method used were counselling, training, discussion and demonstration to 25 farmers. The program was able to increase the motivation and knowledge of farmers to implement the cultivation of environmentally friendly vegetable crops by using organic fertilizer from household waste and ZPT from coconut water. The vegetable crop cultivation in Polewali Mandar Regency has a great opportunity due to the high market demand for vegetable products. Environmental issues are a global concern for the competitiveness of agricultural products. The quality of organic agriculture or environmentally friendly product has become a concern for consumers regarding food safety, health and long-life habituation . The farming community in Galung Lombok village, Tinambung District, Polewali Mandar Regency depends highly on the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides. On the other hand, harvest waste, household waste and coconut water as a byproduct of coconut processing have not been utilised effectively. Thus, this community service program aimed to utilise household organic waste as organic fertiliser and utilise coconut water as plant growth hormone; as well as educate farmers in implementing environmentally-friendly agricultural businesses. The method used were counselling, training, discussion and demonstration to 25 farmers. The program was able to increase the motivation and knowledge of farmers to implement the cultivation of environmentally friendly vegetable crops by using organic fertilizer from household waste and ZPT from coconut water.

Persistent Microbial Contaminants in Hawked ‘OGI’ and Public Health Concerns in COVID-19 Era

Aim: The guarantee of quality and safety of foods and all the agents involved in the processes of the food chain in the covid times is of public health concern. This study aimed to evaluate the safety quality of street vended ‘Ogi’ from selected Street hawkers in Iwo, Nigeria in light of the present COVID-19 pandemic.
 Study Design: The experimental design used is completely randomized.
 Methodology: Vendors from five locations were randomly selected to procure samples. pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), microbial loads, identification of isolates, and storability studies were carried out using standard methods.
 Results: pH ranged from (4.1 to 6.3); TTA (0.6 to 0.75 %) for raw ‘Ogi’ slurry. All the ‘Ogi’ samples were contaminated. Counts ranged from (2.6x107 to 1.3x108 CFU/g); (5.6x106 to 2.0x107 CFU/g); (5.2 to 7.2x107 CFU/g); (6.2x106 to 6.1x107 CFU/g); and (1.2x105 to 4.4x106 CFU/g) for total viable (TVC); Staphylococcal; Salmonella-Shigella; Lactobacillus and fungal respectively. pH of cooked ‘Ogi’ ranged from (4.2 to 6.1); TVC and Salmonella-Shigella count ranged from (2.3to 8.5x 106 CFU/g), (1.7 to 3.3x 106 CFU/g); (5.8x106 to 1.5x107 CFU/g), (3.1 to 7.9x106 CFU/g); and (6.6x106 to 1.6x107 CFU/g), (4.0x106 to 1.0x107 CFU/g) for days 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
 Conclusion: Even after ‘Ogi’ is cooked, there is still a high probability of survival of some pathogens in this functional food, and consumption could result in gastro-intestinal disorder, thereby creating a food safety concern for consumers who may have other health challenges.

Contact Dermatitis With the Homoeopathic Medicine Calendula officinalis: A Rare Case Report

Introduction: Herbal medicines and other traditional medicines are well accepted in India and are readily available as over-the-counter preparations. With their increased use, the safety and quality of homoeopathic medicines have become a major concern for health authorities, pharmaceutical industries, and consumers. It is difficult to assess the adverse effects of homoeopathic medicines due to a lack of scientific evidence regarding their safety and efficacy in clinical trials or post-marketing surveillance. Here, we reported a patient with contact dermatitis due to the homoeopathic medicine Calendula officinalis. Case presentation: A 33-year-old previously healthy woman presented with pruritus, redness, and swelling over the entire face and upper neck. The symptoms developed within about 1 hour after the use of a homoeopathic skin ointment containing 2% Calendula officinalis as the major ingredient in an aqueous base. Cutaneous examination revealed periorbital edema and facial swelling with multiple vesicular eruptions over erythematous edematous plaques on the face. A clinical diagnosis of contact dermatitis was considered. Discussion: Many herbal preparations in India are available without safety data. Calendula officinalis extract (oil expressed from seeds) is used in various skin products. The exact allergens present in Calendula officinalis are unknown, but the flowers reportedly contain a variety of phenolic acids and phenylpropanoids that have elicited contact dermatitis. Conclusion: Anecdotal case reports of accidental exposure/sensitization and experimental studies provide sufficient evidence to confirm the causal relationship between contact dermatitis with Calendula Officinalis. Post-marketing surveillance of all homoeopathic medicines should be mandatory, and the availability of such preparations as over-the-counter drugs must be restricted.

Comparison of Pesticide Residue Levels in Tomatoes from Open Fields, Greenhouses, Markets and Consumers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya

The study was carried out to determine and compare pesticide residue levels in tomatoes from Mwea Irrigation Scheme. Thirty five tomato samples of Rambo variety randomly collected from open fields, greenhouses, markets and consumers were analyzed using QuEChERS method. Results showed that pesticide residue leve;s from greenhouse tomatoes was higher compared to open fields, markets and consumers. Alpha-cypermethrin level in greenhouse tomatoes (0.0871±0.0087mg/kg) was significantly (p<0.01) higher than from consumers (0.0218±0.0061mg/kg) while difenoconazole from greenhouse tomatoes (0.2597±0.0522 mg/kg) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than from the open field (0.0295±0.0014 mg/kg). Carbendazim level in greenhouse (1.2341±0.1667 mg/kg) tomatoes was significantly (p<0.001) higher than from open fields (0.0596±0.0178 mg/kg), markets (0.1160±0.0490 mg/kg) and consumers (0.0494±0.0155 mg/kg). Imidacloprid in greenhouse tomatoes (0.1446±0.0086 mg/kg) was significantly (p<0.001) higher than from the markets (0.0236±0.0019 mg/kg) and consumers (0.0170±0.0017 mg/kg). High pesticide residue levels in tomatoes are a health concern for consumers. Enforcing the food safety laws, enhancing farmer training on safe use of pesticides and creating awareness on pesticide risks would promote production of uncontaminated crops consumed locally.

Consumer perception and emotional responses to plant-based cheeses

Consumer interest in plant-based cheeses (PBCs) has increased in the last few years due to consumer concern for animal welfare, environmental impact, and health. In order to increase the acceptability of PBCs, sensory studies must be conducted. As such, the aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptability, sensory properties, and emotional responses to PBCs currently being sold in Canada. There were two different sensory trials conducted. In the first trial (n = 100), raw PBCs were evaluated, and in the second trial (n = 93) melted PBCs were evaluated. In both trials, five different PBCs were evaluated using nine-point hedonic scales, a check-all-that-apply (CATA) question, and the CATA variant of the EsSense25 profile. Participants were also asked to answer open-ended comment questions about PBCs. The results showed that participants thought PBCs are healthier than regular dairy cheese, but they did not like the flavour or textural properties of PBCs. PBCs that are buttery, smooth, and have soft attributes were preferred by the participants. Participants mainly disliked PBCs that were mouthcoating, rubbery, and had off-flavours. The PBCs with higher overall liking scores were associated with positive emotions.

Monitoring and risk assessment of perchlorate in tea samples produced in China

Accumulation of potentially perchlorate in tea is a new concern for tea consumers. The information on perchlorate contamination in tea is highly limited. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and accumulation of perchlorate in tea samples from China and to assess human exposure risks. A total of 288 tea samples collected from 16 provinces of China were tested, and nearly 94.8% of the samples were found to have detectable perchlorate contamination. Concentrations of perchlorate ranged from below LOQ to 1274.3 μg/kg, with a mean value of 294.6 μg/kg. Tea samples collected from Central China had the highest mean perchlorate concentration (403.4 µg/kg). The mean and median perchlorate levels in the dark and black samples were much higher than that of other types of tea samples. After brewing tea, the dissolution rates of perchlorate from the dried tea ranged from 58.9% to 89.2%. For the worst-case scenario, the estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of tea samples in 16 investigated provinces ranged from 25.9 to 157.8 ng/kg bw/day and 29.7–180.7 ng/kg bw/day for male and female respectively, indicating no significant health risks to local residents via tea consumption.

Effects of ultrasound assisted emulsification on overall quality of reduced‐sodium “spam‐like” products elaborated with tilapia filleting by‐products

This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of spam-like products elaborated with tilapia mechanically separated meat (MSM), containing different substitution levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) by potassium chloride (KCl; 12.17%–60%) and submitted to different ultrasound times (5–60 min) and intensities (7.53–30.14 W/cm2). No changes (p > .05) were observed in moisture (72.31%), ash (13.22%), carbohydrate (9.28%), protein (4.92%), and lipid (0.47%). Reddishness, cohesiveness, and chewiness were improved, and water exudation was reduced by some treatment conditions, which were further evaluated for microbiological and sensory analysis. Spam-like product at 12.12 W/cm2 for 48.85 min with 47.83% substitution of NaCl by KCl was microbiologically suitable (absence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. in 25 g, coagulase positive Staphylococcus, and sulfite-reducing at 46°C Clostridium) and more accepted by consumers (global impression score of 7.85 ± 0.98). It makes the ultrasound-assisted emulsification for reduced-sodium tilapia MSM spam-like products a feasible alternative to increase fish consumption, improve the healthiness of spam-like products, and still contribute to reducing environmental impacts. Practical applications High sodium intake is an increasing concern for health regulatory agencies and consumers, who are increasingly health-conscious. Nevertheless, it is challenging to produce low-sodium meat products without changing their quality attributes, mainly the taste. High-intensity ultrasound could be helpful for this purpose; however, there is a need to establish the feasible parameters for industrial use concerning the reduced level of NaCl, ultrasound intensity, and exposure time. Our study demonstrated a strategy to produce reduced-sodium tilapia mechanically separated meat (MSM) spam-like products applying ultrasound at 12.12 W/cm2 for 48.85 min and replacing 47.83% NaCl with KCl.

Consumer Concern and Willingness to Pay for Plastic Alternatives in Food Service

Plastic food service packaging represents a large source of plastic waste and marine debris. Currently, most food service business operators are resistant to changing to environmentally friendly alternatives due to perceived cost and loss of business due to passing these costs onto the consumer. To address these issues, we assessed the willingness of consumers to pay for plastic alternatives in both dine-in and takeout scenarios at restaurants in relation to levels of environmental concern, environmental identity, and demographics through a survey. Data were analyzed using a combination of descriptive statistics, regressions, and exploratory factor analyses. Of the 1371 survey responses, nearly 66% of respondents indicated they would be willing to pay 40 cents or more per person per meal at a restaurant for plastic alternatives and that this preference did not vary between dine-in and takeout scenarios. Additionally, education level and level of caring for the environment were the two most significant factors that increased willingness to pay for plastic alternatives.

Factors affecting willingness to pay premium prices for socially responsible food products: Evidence from Indian consumers

AbstractThe motive of this study is to identify the factors influencing the willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for socially responsible food products (SRFPs) in India. This study is based on primary survey of 398 respondents. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis have been used for data analysis. Further, logistic regression was used to examine the factors affecting the WTP a premium price for SRFPs. Results demonstrate that respondents of higher age are more likely to pay premium prices for SRFPs. Male consumers are two times more likely to have higher WTP for SRFPs. WTP a premium price is significantly influenced by the consumers' reference group, pro‐environmental intention, and concern for the animals. Gender, age, consumers' reference group, pro‐environmental intention, and concern for the animals determine WTP premium prices for SRFPs. There are relatively very limited researches on this topic in emerging economies including India, where the adoption of socially responsible products is in early stage. The practical implications of this study are to help in increasing the sales of the SRFPs and producers to develop appropriate policy design.

Perspectives from healthcare professionals on the nutritional adequacy of plant-based dairy alternatives: results of a mixed methods inquiry

BackgroundHealthcare professionals are important sources of nutrition and health information for Americans. As plant-based (PB) dairy alternative products increase in popularity, concerns have been raised about their nutritional adequacy, and whether consumers understand nutritional differences to dairy. Healthcare professionals directly advise consumers on dietary choices, therefore we sought to examine their understanding and opinions of PB dairy alternatives.MethodsWe analyzed comments submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by health professionals (n = 191) in 2018–2019 in response to a request for public comment on the nutrition of PB dairy alternatives and the use of dairy terms like “milk”, “cheese”, and “yogurt” on their labels. Survey data from healthcare professionals (n = 417) was collected in 2020–2021. Comments and survey responses to open-ended questions were coded using template analysis and thematically analyzed. Logistic regression models examined perceptions across health professional characteristics for close-ended survey responses.ResultsThree-fourths of health professionals believe consumers are confused about the nutritional differences between dairy and PB dairy alternatives. Over half (53%) do not believe either product is nutritionally superior to the other. Many believe dairy products have higher nutrient value, but also believe PB dairy alternatives can be part of a healthful diet. Compared to other types of health professionals, dietetics professionals demonstrated a more accurate understanding of the nutritional value of both products and were more likely to believe nutrients like protein (OR 2.02; 95% CI 1.22–3.34, p = 0.006) and vitamin D (OR 2.46; 95% CI 1.48–4.09, p = 0.001) may be nutrients of concern for PB dairy alternative consumers. They were also more likely to believe consumers are confused about these products (OR 3.44; 95% CI 1.65–7.21; p = 0.001). Health professionals who submitted comments to the FDA showed stronger opinions in favor of PB dairy alternatives.ConclusionsAlthough PB dairy alternatives have nutritional value in certain diets, responses from health professionals suggest that changing their labeling to be different than dairy may reduce confusion. Improved nutrition education among health professionals may also be necessary.

Drivers of Households' Demand for White and Red Meat in Nigeria

The consumption of red meat has become a major health concern for consumers, especially those related to the heart. White meat contains less fat and cholesterol and tends to regulate blood pressure and heart-related diseases. Research on white meat has not been given the desired attention, thus the need for the study on white meat demand in Nigeria. In this study, we used already obtained data to evaluate the drivers of demand of households for white and red meat. The data used were obtained from the Harmonised National Living Standard Survey (HNLSS) collected by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria. The respondents surveyed comprised 33,102 households. Descriptive statistics and the Heckman 2-stage model were the analytical tools employed. Monthly expenditure on beef ($21.66) is higher than on fish and poultry ($21.58 and $5.21, respectively) in the rural area. While households' expenditure on fish ($17.63) is higher than on beef and poultry ($14.01 and $1.55, respectively) in the urban sector. Age, sex, higher health expenditure, residents in the rural sector and northwest zone adversely influence households' demand for white meat. Advocacy and enlightenment campaign on the nutritional and health benefits of white meat consumption is key for households that are male-headed and those that spend more on health issues; rural sector and northwest zone residents.

Consumers’ attitudes and their effects on electric vehicle sales and charging infrastructure construction: An empirical study in China

There are close links and interactions among consumers' attitudes, the construction of charging infrastructure, and the diffusion of new energy vehicles (NEVs). This study focuses on consumers' sentient attitudes toward charging infrastructure and the effect of consumer attitudes toward the construction of charging piles and NEV sales using natural language processing technology and the panel vector autoregressive method. Consumers' sentient attitudes (i.e., positive, negative, and neutral) were inferred by analyzing consumer comments on charging infrastructure obtained from the internet. The key reasons for consumers' negative attitudes were further investigated, and the diversity in their attitudes was explored at the city level. The results show a growing concern for consumers about charging infrastructure since 2013. The overall satisfaction of consumers has constantly improved. The top pain points that cause consumers' negative attitudes are inconvenient charging, charging dilemmas, inability to install private charging piles, etc. Consumers' negative attitudes have a significantly positive impact on the charging piles’ construction. It also has a significantly negative impact on the sales of NEVs, but the effects are themselves short-term. Usually, the impact of negative attitudes is stronger than that of positive attitudes.

Factors Influencing Consumers' Purchase Intention on Cold Chain Aquatic Products under COVID-19: An Investigation in China.

Following the detection of COVID-19 in cold chain aquatic products (CCAP) at Xinfadi Produce Wholesale Market in Beijing, China, in June 2020, novel coronavirus positive tests of CCAP have been reported in such markets of Dalian, Xi’an, Qingdao, Taiyuan, and other places, which has aroused the concern of Chinese consumers. The CCAP outbreak puts tremendous pressure on public health management and threatens customer well-being. This article uses the theoretical model of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate Chinese consumers’ purchasing intentions of CCAP under this circumstance. A total of 783 questionnaires were administered in China with empirical analysis through a structural equation model. The results show that attitudes (ATT) towards the safety of CCAP and subjective norms (SN) have significant positive effects on customers’ purchasing behavior intention (BI); the emotional response to the health concern (EM) of CCAP has a significant positive impact on SN, ATT, and BI; and BI of CCAP is significantly affected by individual characteristics. The BI of CCAP for those married consumers living in cities and towns with a low monthly consumption frequency is more likely to be affected by the new coronavirus epidemic events. This paper is one of the first studies that contribute to the literature by exploring the influencing factors of the consumption behavior intention over the COVID-19 pandemic in China from a public health perspective. The findings provide significant implications for cold chain operators, market managers, and policymakers to develop guidelines and offer a framework to initiate and support the produce market and boost consumer health confidence in CCAP at the practitioner level.

A Fuzzy Logic Based Defense Mechanism against Distributed Denial of Services Attack in Cloud Environment

Cloud defines a new age of computing solution that provides services to customers with its unique features of agility and multi-tenancy. As the critical resources are hosted at cloud provider’s end, security is a big challenge in cloud computing. If the cloud environment is compromised and attackers get the access of core data centers, the availability of the critical resources becomes a big concern for the service consumers. Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service kind of attacks are launched towards cloud environment to make the resources unavailable for legitimate users. In this paper we propose a fuzzy logic based defense mechanism that can be set with predefined rules by which it can detect the malicious packets and takes proper counter measures to mitigate the DDoS attack. Also a detailed study of different kind of DDoS attack and existing defense strategies has been carried out. Keywords: DoS, DDoS, fuzzy logic.

Purchase Intention on Sustainable products: A Case study on Free-Range Eggs in Taiwan

ABSTRACT Increasing of awareness on healthy and friendly environmentally products such as free-range eggs has become a concern of consumers in over the world including for Taiwanese consumers. There are many motives of free-range egg purchase, but this study only discussed four aspects, i.e. health consciousness, food safety concern, animal welfare concern, and price. This study examined the importance of those aspects and examined the relationship with purchase intention. The study was conducted on 228 Taiwanese respondents through an online survey held on November 2020 and February 2021. This study found that health consciousness was the main factor for Taiwanese consumers to choose free-range eggs followed by food safety concern, price and animal welfare concern. Health consciousness, food safety concern and the concern to animal welfare positively influenced the purchase intention, while price did not significantly influence the purchase intention. Females, the higher income level, and the respondents that cook more frequently have higher intention to buy free-range eggs, while the differences in age, educational levels, and number of family members do not influence the purchase intention.

Advanced Characterization of Monofloral Honeys from Romania

Honey’s authenticity is a major concern for producers and consumers, and this prompts research into reliable methods to determine the source of honey (botanical and geographical). This study aimed to find the botanical origin of seven samples of monofloral honey (acacia, thyme, tilia, rape, raspberry, mint and sunflower) based on pollen analysis and identification of the physicochemical characteristics of these types of honey. For these types of honey, the following parameters were determined: color, electrical conductivity, free acidity, moisture content, pH, hydroxymethylfurfural content and sugar content. Alongside pollen analysis, these methods succeeded in classifying the analyzed samples as monofloral honey. Non-destructive methods of analysis such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the determination of the rheological behavior of honey in the negative domain and the determination of the thermal behavior were also employed to characterize the honey samples. The best differentiation between samples was achieved in the spectral region between 950 and 750 cm−1, which is of interest for carbohydrate analysis in IR spectroscopy. In the negative interval, the viscous and elastic modules intersected at different temperatures, these temperatures being influenced both by the moisture of the analyzed samples and the botanical origin.

Contamination status and health risk assessment of 31 mycotoxins in six edible and medicinal plants using a novel green defatting and depigmenting pretreatment coupled with LC-MS/MS

Mycotoxin contamination in edible and medicinal plants seeds is a potential toxicological concern for consumers. A novel, green and efficient defatting and de-pigment clean-up pretreatment was first developed for the simultaneous determination of 31 mycotoxins via freeze-out combined with solid-phase extraction. Combination of freeze-out and solid-phase extraction can achieve a double clean-up effect: defatting and depigmenting. The combination of the two can achieve a double clean-up effect. Excellent performance characteristics of method validation, inter- and intra-day precision (RSD <10%), and recovery (79.5–125.1%) were obtained, fulfilling the current legislation. Alarmingly, of the 117 batches of samples, more than 30% contained more than one kind of mycotoxin, 7.69% of which were detected at levels exceeding the limits defined in the European Pharmacopoeia, and four of which were detected at levels over five times higher than the maximum residue level. Furthermore, two risk assessment methods identified aflatoxins and Zearalenone as the most risk-inducing mycotoxins in these matrices. This is the first report on the contamination status and risk assessment of multi-mycotoxins in six edible and medicinal plant seeds (Coicis Semen, Semen Perisicae, Ziziphi Spinosae Semen, Cassiae Semen, malt and nutmeg). The presented method has unique advantages for evaluating multi-mycotoxin exposure in edible and medicinal plant seeds or other oil-rich matrices.

Study on Consumers’ Preference and Price Premium for Organic Vegetables in Budhanilkantha Municipality Kathmandu Valley

Paying regard to the increasing concern of consumers towards nutrients-loaded food products and agriculture sustainability, the main aim of this paper is to assess the consumers’ willingness to pay the price premium for organic vegetables and to know their perception of the organic vegetables in Budhanilkantha-8 municipality, Kathmandu. A total of 100 respondents were randomly surveyed using a questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire included the demographic section, while in the second part, consumers were asked about their perception of organic vegetable consumption. The consumers’ survey revealed that 28% of the respondents were willing to pay a 0-10% price premium compared to inorganic vegetables. Similarly, 24% were willing to pay a 20-30% price premium. Some (22%) were willing to pay a 10-20% price premium, 9% liked to pay a 30-40% price premium, 1% liked to pay a 40-50% price premium, and 8% were willing to pay greater than 50% price premium, while 8% of surveyed consumers denied paying price premium even in case of product availability. The consumers’ willingness to pay was health properties, followed by freshness and taste. Few factors, such as low availability, low trust, lack of information, and high price, were considered barriers to purchasing organic vegetables. The survey also suggested that the consumption of organic vegetables is increasing; however, to stimulate further demand for its consumption, huge production and timely availability, credible certification, processing, and packaging are needed to be promoted.