Does information on food safety affect consumers’ acceptance of new food technologies? The case of irradiated beef in South Korea under a new labelling system and across different information regimes

Consumer aversion to new food technologies may be partly explained by the gap between the problem that the technology solves and what consumers actually understand about the food technology. This study assesses how accepting consumers are of food irradiation when exposed to prior information about food safety-related issues. Using a hypothetical discrete choice experiment, this study also explores consumer demand for a new food irradiation labelling system in South Korea under different information on food irradiation (positive, negative, and positive and negative). The results indicate that Korean consumers have a negative perception of irradiated foods and that they fail to link the use of food irradiation as a vehicle to solve food safety issues, even with the new version of the irradiated food label. However, providing consumers with information about food safety-related issues alongside with the benefits implied by the use of food irradiation resulted in more general acceptance of food irradiation. Furthermore, we conclude with a discussion of the relevant implications for policymakers, academics and food industry professionals.

消费者对新型食品技术的抵触情绪，在一定程度上可归因于技术所要解决的问题与消费者实际对该食品技术的认知之间存在的认知鸿沟。本研究首先评估了当消费者接收到与食品安全相关的前置信息时，其对食品辐照（food irradiation）的接受程度；随后采用假设型离散选择实验法，探究了韩国境内在不同类型的食品辐照相关信息（正面、负面、正负结合）情境下，消费者对新型食品辐照标签体系的需求情况。研究结果显示，韩国消费者对辐照食品持有负面认知，且即便在新型辐照食品标签的加持下，他们仍未能将食品辐照技术视作解决食品安全问题的手段。然而，若向消费者同步提供食品安全相关信息与食品辐照技术应用所蕴含的潜在益处，则可提升消费者对食品辐照技术的整体接受度。最后，本文还针对政策制定者、学术界人士以及食品行业从业者，探讨了本研究的相关实践启示。