Search

Household food waste represents one of the main challenges threatening the sustainability of modern food systems globally. As is widely recognised, a deeper understanding of wasteful behaviour profiles is the starting point of designing intervention strategies. The overall objective of this research is to explore the role of psychological factors that influence household wasteful food behaviour in Italy and to profile consumers with heterogeneous personal attitudes towards wasting food. Starting with data collected through a web-based survey realized on a sample of 530 individuals responsible for household shopping, a principal component analysis and a two-step cluster analysis revealed three different segments of consumers with heterogeneous wasteful behaviours. The clusters differ in relation to psychological factors, such as moral attitudes and concerns about and intentions to reduce food waste. The study findings provide insights for implementing prevention, reduction, and recovery strategies tailored to these different consumer profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study frames the household food waste challenge in the microeconomic theory context by proposing a model that considers food waste a consequence of inefficient consumer choices. A data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology was applied to factor consumer's efficiency level dimension, starting from data collected through a web survey conducted in Italy with a sample of 530 individuals responsible for their households' food-shopping. The findings confirm that food waste is a complex issue, affected by both behavioural and psychological factors, synthesized in three indices constructed with fuzzy analysis. The results show that the shopping behaviour index generates a higher average efficiency score for food waste minimization than the food waste concerns and moral attitudes indices. Furthermore, those drivers have different efficiency levels in reducing food waste with reference to gender, age, family composition, and educational level. The results have several implications for policymakers: they highlight the need to implement tailored educational and information campaigns that consider the most important targets identified, such as large families with children, young people, and men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyse the influence of alternative formats of health warnings on French and Italian Millennial consumers' choices of beer and wine. Two Discrete Choice Experiments were built for wine and beer and two Latent Class choice models were applied in order to verify the existence of different consumer profiles. Results show that young consumers' choices for wine and beer are influenced by framing, design and visibility of warnings. In both countries, the acceptance of warnings is higher for beer than for wine and in both cases consumers show higher utility for a logo on the front label: on the neck with a neutral message in the case of beer; on the front, without a message for wine. Latent Class choice models highlight the existence of different consumers' groups with different levels of warning influencing their choices. In order to apply policies conducting to health benefits, our results suggest the need to focus on young individuals to communicate the risks of alcohol abuse through targeted messages and, more generally, to make them aware of the potential negative effects of excessive consumption of both wine and beer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separate waste collection in Italy comes under the responsibility of local authorities, provinces, while national laws set quantitative targets to be achieved over time. Overall, just a few provinces have reached the thresholds set by the latest law (Legislative Decree 152/2006) and some territorial differentiation has been detected. The aim of this paper is twofold: to verify the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting higher levels of separate collection and to test whether institutional quality (considering the following indicators: voice and accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption) affects provinces' efficiency in the separate collection process. For this purpose, we implement the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Results suggest that the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 has been affected by provinces' institutional quality. In particular, the presence of institutional constraints did not allow the most virtuous provinces to achieve the targets set by law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of health warnings on labels to correct externalities associated with alcohol consumption is heavily debated and has been explored from different perspectives. The current paper aims to analyse the interest and attitudes of Italian university students regarding health warnings on alcoholic beverages and to verify the existence of segments that differ in terms of attitudes towards such warnings. Our results show that young consumers consider health warnings quite important, although the degree of perceived utility differs in relation to the type of warning. Cluster analysis shows the existence of three groups of young consumers with different degrees of attention and perceived utility of warnings on alcoholic beverages, but also in relation to drinking behaviour and awareness of social and health risks related to alcohol consumption. In brief, Italian young adults with moderate consumption behaviour view label warnings positively, while this attitude is weaker among younger adults and those with riskier consumption behaviours. Our findings, albeit limited and based on stated and not revealed data, support the need for appropriate tools to improve the availability of information among young adults on the risks of excessive alcohol consumption and increased awareness of the importance of moderate drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was twofold: on the one hand, we analyse the results achieved in terms of percentages of separate collection in Italy by testing the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in improving the separate collection process; and on the other hand, we investigate on some of the factors, related to the sociocultural local context, that could explain the different impacts of the law in the three macro-areas considered (North, Central and South Italy). To this purpose, an econometric analysis on the Italian regions for the 1996-2013 period is performed, comparing the period before (1996-2006) and after (2006-2013) the date of entry into force of the new law. The results show the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting separate collection, although a regional difference in terms of separate collection rate is observed. Northern regions proved to be more dynamic and reactive to the above-mentioned legislation, while Central and especially Southern regions achieved poorer results in moving to higher separate waste collection rates. Finally, our work provides evidence on some local factors that may have hampered an effective policy implementation in Southern regions, among them, the presence of criminal activities and the lack of citizen participation in politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some significant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of significant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ interest and preference for health warnings on wine label, and the key socio-demographic and attitudinal variables driving this interest. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered, by a professional marketing company, through an on line survey with a sample of 300 Italians, aged over 18, consuming wine at least once a month. Findings – Respondents were interested in receiving more information on nutritional and health features of wine through the label, and would also like to obtain information about the warnings about possible side effects related to excessive wine consumption. The most relevant variables influencing positive interest toward this information are gender (female), age (younger cohort), education level (higher), presence of children in the household and being the main responsible of grocery shopping. Research limitations/implications – The research was limited by being conducted only in Italy, using explorative methodology. Social implications – Outcomes provide useful evidence for advocates calling for the introduction of health warnings on wine labels and policy makers. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to analyze Italian consumer interest toward health warnings on wine label. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to make a contribution to the analysis of costs and benefits of adopting sustainable practices. The paper reports the results of an exploratory study into wineries' perceived mix of economic costs and benefits and environmental benefits provided by participating in the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing scheme. A total of 14 wineries, representing more than 50% of the entire wine production of California certified wine (and 25% of all certified wineries), participated in the study. Based on the information detected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with winery managers and owners, performing a descriptive analysis and a log it model, we reveal that overall economic benefits, resulting from the sustainable practices introduced by the certification scheme, outweigh the additional costs. In particular, older wineries (>15 years) and those located in Sonoma Valley or on multiple sites are more keen to assign a positive economic viability to sustainable practices. Furthermore, sustainable vineyard practices are highly rated by respondents in terms of both perceived environmental and economic benefits. Outcomes should foster similar studies exploring other specific sustainability programs and certification schemes, and eventually encourage cross-cultural investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The winegrowing sector worldwide is strongly committed to improving environmental and social sustainability. The aim of this work, based on a literature review, is to highlight current sustainability perspectives and the related main issues. There is a broad consensus that the challenge to achieve a greater spread of sustainable practices is to enhance environmental and social sustainability while maintaining economic viability. From the producers' point of view, the priority is to bridge the still substantial knowledge gaps in terms of perceived environmental benefits, economic benefits, and costs. Thus, an increased research effort focusing on the costs and benefits of different winegrowing practices and technical assistance with implementation might support their diffusion. Moreover, targeted marketing strategies are needed to: enhance consumers' involvement and their attitude toward sustainable wine; improve understanding and use of sustainable labels and claims; and raise awareness of some environmental credentials of wine packaging, mainly with reference to lightweight glass bottles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Wine exports from the European Union have gained shares in both traditional markets (US, Canada, Switzerland and Japan) and in new markets (China, Hong Kong and Russia). In coming years, major growth in consumption and imports is expected in these new markets and in others, like Singapore, South Korea, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Angola. Most of the above new markets, however, are still heavily protected by high tariff and non‐tariff barriers, the most intrusive being wine labelling regulations, oenological practices, maximum residue limits of agrichemicals, certification and testing procedures. Since the stalling of the Doha multilateral negotiations exporting countries have been negotiating Free Trade Agreements to gain preferential access to fast growing markets. The EU has signed several agreements relevant to the wine trade (e.g. with South Korea, Singapore and Canada) and a number of negotiations are currently in progress. However, some of the EU's main competitors, in particular Chile, Australia and New Zealand, are very active as well. EU wine exporters would therefore be aided by an effective trade policy strategy, otherwise they risk losing ground to their competitors. The timely conclusion of the agreements currently under negotiation (as with India) and a prompt start to negotiations with China would therefore be desirable. Les exportations de vin de l'Union européenne ont gagné des parts à la fois sur les marchés traditionnels (États‐Unis, Canada, Suisse et Japon) et sur de nouveaux marchés (Chine, Hong‐Kong et Russie). Dans les prochaines années, une forte hausse de la consommation et des importations est attendue dans ces nouveaux marchés et dans d'autres comme Singapour, la Corée du sud, l'Inde, le Brésil, le Mexique, l'Afrique du Sud et l'Angola. Cependant, la plupart des nouveaux marchés ci‐dessus sont toujours fortement protégés par des droits de douanes élevés et des barrières non tarifaires, dont les plus pénalisantes sont les réglementations en matière d'étiquetage, les pratiques œnologiques, les limites maximales de résidus de produits phytosanitaires, et les procédures de certification et de vérification. Depuis que les négociations multilatérales de Doha sont en panne, les pays exportateurs ont signé des accords commerciaux bilatéraux qui affectent le commerce du vin (par exemple avec la Corée du sud, Singapour et le Canada) et un certain nombre de négociations sont en cours. Cependant, certains des principaux concurrents de l'Union européenne, en particulier le Chili, l'Australie et la Nouvelle‐Zélande, sont également très actifs. Il serait donc utile, pour éviter que les exportateurs de vin de l'Union européenne risquent de perdre du terrain par rapport à leurs concurrents, de mettre en place une stratégie efficace pour la politique commerciale. La conclusion en temps voulu des accords en cours de négociation (par exemple avec l'Inde) et un démarrage rapide des négociations avec la Chine seraient donc les bienvenus. Der Anteil der Weinexporte aus der Europäischen Union ist sowohl in traditionellen Märkten (USA, Kanada, der Schweiz und Japan) als auch in neuen Märkten (China, Hongkong und Russland) gestiegen. In den kommenden Jahren wird ein erhebliches Wachstum von Verbrauch und Importen in diesen neuen Märkten und weiteren wie Singapur, Südkorea, Indien, Brasilien, Mexiko, Südafrika und Angola erwartet. Die meisten der genannten neuen Märkte werden jedoch stark durch Zollbarrieren und zollfremde Handelshemmnisse geschützt. Zu den relevantesten zählen Weinkennzeichnungsvorschriften, önologische Verfahren, MRL‐Werte für Agrochemikalien sowie Prüf‐ und Zertifizierungsverfahren. Seitdem die multilateralen Verhandlungen von Doha ins Stocken geraten sind, verhandeln die Exportländer über Freihandelsabkommen, um bevorzugten Zugang zu schnellwachsenden Märkten zu erhalten. Die EU hat mehrere für den Weinhandel relevante Abkommen unterzeichnet (z.B. mit Südkorea, Singapur und Kanada) und führt derzeit etliche Verhandlungen. Einige Hauptkonkurrenten der EU, insbesondere Chile, Australien und Neuseeland, sind jedoch auch nicht untätig. Den Weinexporteuren der EU wäre daher mit einer wirksamen handelspolitischen Strategie geholfen, andernfalls riskieren sie, gegenüber der Konkurrenz an Boden zu verlieren. Der zügige Abschluss der derzeit verhandelten Abkommen (z.B. mit Indien) und ein unverzüglicher Beginn der Verhandlungen mit China wären daher wünschenswert. Wine exports from the European Union have gained shares in both traditional markets (US, Canada, Switzerland and Japan) and in new markets (China, Hong Kong and Russia). In coming years, major growth in consumption and imports is expected in these new markets and in others, like Singapore, South Korea, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Angola. Most of the above new markets, however, are still heavily protected by high tariff and non‐tariff barriers, the most intrusive being wine labelling regulations, oenological practices, maximum residue limits of agrichemicals, certification and testing procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This work aims to develop a repeatable enzyme entrapment method that preserves activity within an amicable environment while resisting activity reduction in the presence of environmental challenges. Advances in such methods have wide potential use in biosensor applications. In this work β-galactosidase (lactase) enzyme was entrapped within hydrogel matrices of acrylamide (ACR) crosslinked with N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS, non-degradable) or poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA, degradable) to create 'biogels.' Diffusivity studies of control, enzyme free, hydrogel constructs showed near-Fickian swelling behavior in PBS regardless of crosslinker type or density. As expected, the swelling rate, Ks, decreased when increasing the crosslink density from 78.6 to 14.7 min−1 over a range of 1-20 mol% PEGDA indicating that diffusivity into the matrix is dependent on crosslink density. Fabricated biogels were evaluated for maintained enzyme activity in the 7 and 8 pH range. PEGDA crosslinked gels consistently showed improved enzymatic activity retention as compared to BIS crosslinked gels. As PEGDA crosslink density increased from 5 to 10 mol%, enzymatic activity retention post-initial entrapment increased. Higher PEGDA crosslink densities between 15% and 40% decreased enzymatic activity due to assumed steric hindrance of the entrapped enzyme and also decreased substrate and product diffusion. Increased enzymatic stability was observed in 40 mol% PEGDA crosslinked gels. The biogels were pH challenged to 8.0 and stability, measured as retention of activity, was observed to be 91%. Free, non-entrapped, solution based enzyme conversion only retained 23% activity under the same pH challenge conditions. No significant loss of active enzyme was determined to elute out of the biogels during storage in PBS or during biogel wash and recycling. This entrapment method illustrates the potential to sterically hinder and diffusively impede enzymes from performing their function. Degradation of the network crosslinks can then potentially enable the reactivation of the enzyme at a site and time dictated by the user. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013;110: 2994-3002. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: In advanced age, the influence of vertebral fractures on quality of life extends well beyond the usual sequelae of osteoporosis. In order to intercept older subjects' distress associated with the clinical, functional, social and psychological consequences of the disease, we developed and validated a multidimensional instrument (the triple-Q questionnaire) tailored to older women with osteoporotic fractures. We also examined specific aspects of the questionnaire correlated with bone mineral density. Methods: 100 osteoporotic women with vertebral fractures and 100 controls aged >65 years, underwent a thorough examination, which also included X-ray of the thoraco-lumbar spine, hip densitometry, the triple-Q questionnaire, and five referral instruments evaluating function, cognition, perception of general health, mood and pain. Results: The questionnaire was repeatable and able to discriminate between older women with and without vertebral fractures. There was a strong association between referral instrument scores and the corresponding single domain score of the questionnaire. Femoral BMD was also associated with scores indicating fear of falling, fear of fracture, and pain. Conclusions: The questionnaire intercepted the influence of osteoporosis on the quality of life of elderly women with vertebral fractures. Subjects who suffered from severe pain and were more fearful of falling were most likely to be severely osteoporotic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details the procedures and performance philosophy of music performing group Altamar in medieval Ireland. Explanation on the process of performance; Application of the process to the creation of the Crossroads of the Celts program and recording; Division of the process into four stages; Artistic goal of the group.

The results of a research in progress at the Istituto di Fisica Generale Applicata-University of Milan-on natural and anthropogenic elements' determination in mosses as biological indicators are shown. The analytical technique was the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. The chosen areas for a preliminary pollution mapping were Italian Central Alps (Valmalenco and Valtellina) and the hills around Como (pre-Alps); in addition, a group of mosses was from Monza Park, near Milan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the goal of reducing consumer-related food waste in developed countries, it is necessary to have an in-depth understanding of the factors shaping food waste, both in the household as well as at the point of purchase. Despite a growing number of studies on the subject, especially in recent years, the evidence on drivers of food waste and barriers to its reduction is somewhat conflicting. The current paper contributes to existing knowledge on food waste behaviour at the consumer level, providing original results from a direct survey conducted with a sample randomly selected in southern Italy to reveal consumer awareness, concerns and intentions towards food waste and to ascertain the existence of different consumer profiles with similar food waste behaviour. Since southern Italian regions have been shown to produce lower levels of food waste than regions in northern Italy, an in-depth analysis of the drivers behind food waste in this area could be considered an interesting case study. Our findings showed the existence of several consumer behaviour profiles that influenced household food waste generation. Strategies to reduce waste should take such differences into account in order to promote changes in food waste behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates Italian consumer knowledge and use of nutrition and health claims (NHCs). Six specific claims are examined on the basis of a web survey carried out on a sample of 504 consumers. Our results show that there is little attention to NHCs and their use is not widespread; objective knowledge of the selected claims is fairly scant, generating misinterpretation and confusion about their real meaning. K-means cluster analysis allowed us to identify three segments of consumers, characterized by different levels in attention and use frequency of NHCs, with a specific profile in terms of motivation and nutritional knowledge. Our results suggest the advisability of policy interventions and communication efforts which target the three segments with a view to achieving greater attention to NHCs. In conclusion, to boost knowledge concerning the actual meaning of the claims and their relation with a healthy diet, especially to reach non-users, information should be provided both simply and clearly, avoiding the use of complex scientific terminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nowadays there is a strong debate on the need to introduce mandatory nutritional information on alcoholic beverages labels, and particularly on wine, as a tool to promote more health-conscious drinking patterns in society. In 2018, the European alcoholic beverages industry presented a self-regulatory proposal, now under assessment by the European Commission. The most critical issue is how to convey nutritional information to consumers, as producers should decide to apply information on label or off-label. Method: The current study measured, through a non-hypothetical, incentive compatible artefactual field experiment, Italian wine consumers (N = 103) preferences for four different formats of wine nutritional labelling, namely: back label with the indication of kcal for glass of wine, with the nutritional panel referred to 100 mL, without nutritional information (but with a link to an external website) and with the indication of key nutrients for glass of wine. Results: Findings reveal that respondents preferred the nutritional panel on the back label, assigning the lowest preference to the less informative wine label (only with a website recall). Furthermore, results show a low level of respondents' knowledge of wine nutritional properties. Conclusion: Findings, while limited in terms of sample representativeness, seem to support the European Consumer Organisation and the European Alcohol Policy Alliance objection to an off-line label and the advocacy for a traditional and complete on label nutritional information on wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]