Biocide Use in the Beverage Industry: Consumers’ Knowledge and Label Preferences Relating to the Need and Usefulness of Biocides with Particular Reference to Dairy Beverage Products in New Zealand and China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (a)
- How aware are consumers about biocide usage in the food industry?
- (b)
- Do consumers link health impacts with the presence of biocide residue in food products, especially dairy products?
- (c)
- Do concerns about biocide residue in food (dairy) products influence consumers’ willingness to pay?
- Firstly, what is consumers’ current knowledge about, and what are their most trustworthy information sources for, the use of biocides in the production and processing of food or beverages?
- Secondly, can information be delivered through packaging labels to positively influence consumers’ attitudes towards the use of biocides?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Design of the Moderator Guide
2.2. Participants
- People aged between 30 and 60;
- Parents who have at least one child living with them at home.
2.3. Conduct of Focus Group Sessions
3. Results
3.1. Consumers’ Knowledge and Trustworthy Information Source
3.1.1. Consumers’ Knowledge about Using Biocides
- Friends in the industry—four participants from NZ and one from China mentioned they had friends who worked in the industry and their friends had shared some working experiences;
- Factory tour—one participant from NZ had obtained some knowledge when he attended a tour of a dairy plant;
- TV programmes—one participant from NZ and one from China mentioned learning relevant information from a TV programme.
3.1.2. NZ Consumers’ Information Source about Using Biocides
- Government-related information—websites or regulations;
- Manufacturer-related information—websites;
- Educational institution-related information—academic paper or reports;
- Independent organisation-related information—reports.
3.1.3. Chinese Consumers’ Information Source about Using Biocides
- Government-related information—TV, newspaper, We-Media (such as the public account of official organisations in Weibo or WeChat), websites or regulations;
- Educational institution-related information—academic paper or reports;
- Independent organisation-related information—reports;
- Friends or professionals.
3.2. Label Preferences
3.2.1. “Biocide Used in Production” vs. “Sanitised Production”
- ‘Biocide’ was perceived as being a negative word: “Because biocide sounds like something bad like a pesticide of something to me. Sanitised sounds clean.” (NZFG2, F);
- ‘Biocide’ was also an unfamiliar word: “People tend to go for what they know, until today I wouldn’t have known what biocides is.” (NZFG 4, F)
3.2.2. Consumers’ Label Preferences When Stating Biocide Use
3.2.3. Consumers’ Label Preferences When Not Directly Mentioning Biocide Use
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
6. Limitations and Future Research
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
1 | $104,000 is the NZ average annual household income according to the Stats NZ 2017. Given income is discussed as a monthly rather than annual figure in China, the equivalent monthly figure was used for screening participants instead. |
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Cong, L.; Bremer, P.; Fang, E.; Li, L.; Mirosa, M. Biocide Use in the Beverage Industry: Consumers’ Knowledge and Label Preferences Relating to the Need and Usefulness of Biocides with Particular Reference to Dairy Beverage Products in New Zealand and China. Beverages 2022, 8, 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages8010005
Cong L, Bremer P, Fang E, Li L, Mirosa M. Biocide Use in the Beverage Industry: Consumers’ Knowledge and Label Preferences Relating to the Need and Usefulness of Biocides with Particular Reference to Dairy Beverage Products in New Zealand and China. Beverages. 2022; 8(1):5. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages8010005
Chicago/Turabian StyleCong, Lei, Phil Bremer, Eddy Fang, Linling Li, and Miranda Mirosa. 2022. "Biocide Use in the Beverage Industry: Consumers’ Knowledge and Label Preferences Relating to the Need and Usefulness of Biocides with Particular Reference to Dairy Beverage Products in New Zealand and China" Beverages 8, no. 1: 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages8010005
APA StyleCong, L., Bremer, P., Fang, E., Li, L., & Mirosa, M. (2022). Biocide Use in the Beverage Industry: Consumers’ Knowledge and Label Preferences Relating to the Need and Usefulness of Biocides with Particular Reference to Dairy Beverage Products in New Zealand and China. Beverages, 8(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages8010005