Consumer attitudes to food quality products of animal origin in Italy

Abstract

Food quality is the characteristics of food that is acceptable to consumers, identifiable through labelling, marketing and quality rules. According to the different kind of consumers, a lot of different product characteristics affected their choices. Nowadays consumers expect their food to be safe, wholesome, tasty, and typical (linked to tradition and land). The latest requirement has a special feeling in Southern European and in Italy, where the tradition for typical products is higher than in the Central and Northern European Countries. In fact, Italy has 22.9% of registered PDO, PGI and TSG products in EU (fresh meat 2.6%, meat products 32.7%, cheeses 21.7%, other animal products 7.4%, fishery 10.0%), and the remaining Southern European Countries (France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus) 54.9%, leaving only 22.2% to the other 19 EU Countries. Moreover, other typical labels are widely spread in Italy, as Organic Farming (8.7% of Italian agricultural surface) and Slow Food Presidia (58.0% of world list). The consumption trend of animal food products is a good indicator of consumers' attitudes and in Italy in the last years we have been facing ups and downs. For instance, from 2000 to 2009 the consumption of fresh meat decreased to 86.4% (beef decreased to 86.4%, but the PGI Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale raised to 154.2%), that of processed meat products to 89.7% (and the PDO products to 92.3%, even if the Prosciutto di Parma to 98.5%), that of fresh milk raised to 102.2%, that of cheese decreased to 90.5% (and PDO products to 95.3%, and Parmigiano Reggiano to 78.7%).