The globalization of contemporary Food Supply Chains (FSCs) has introduced complexities involving multiple actors, food product transportation, and diverse information. Traditional information systems in FSCs face challenges in ensuring transparency and traceability due to the inherent complexities of multi-actor involvement, global transportation, and diverse information, making it difficult to ascertain product origin and processes, exacerbating issues such as food loss, safety concerns, and financial hazards. Blockchain technology, in conjunction with ancillary technologies, offers potential solutions to these challenges. This systematic literature review endeavors to comprehensively explore the multifaceted dimensions of blockchain’s role in FSC management, with an emphasis on food safety and traceability, across six thematic areas, each guided by distinct criteria. These areas include general information, FSC application, factors of blockchain adoption, blockchain platform, ancillary technologies, and the related impact of blockchain adoption. From the 2097 documents found, 122 full-text articles were assessed, and 61 were included and classified in this study based on criteria. These criteria underscore blockchain's capacity for transparency, resilience, and sustainability in FSCs. The results further indicate that blockchain's integration within the FSCs has unveiled a tapestry of possibilities and considerations that underpin its transformative potential in business systems. Blockchain’s inherent traits of transparency and immutability can enhance traceability, mitigate food fraud, and facilitate consumer trust, reshaping the information system’s implementation in the FSC landscape. However, challenges such as integration complexities, data quality, scalability, and regulatory concerns should be addressed. Through these challenges, Artificial Intelligence (AI) arises as a potential solution complementing Blockchain. This amalgamation can effectively tackle certain existing obstacles, such as ensuring data accuracy and system compatibility, while providing stronger solutions for food safety and fraud prevention. The implementation of a comprehensive blockchain solution requires strategic collaboration, technological refinement, and regulatory alignment to fully realize its benefits and address the intricate management challenges of traditional FSC information systems.

The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of important aspects leading to the further development of e-trade in the retail market and to identify the rationale behind consumer preferences. The degree of total service (adequacy of staff, reception) and the overall satisfaction regarding the facilities (organization and hygiene level of the supermarket) are the main factors influencing consumers’ decisions for their purchases. Other important components are the degree of coverage of needs in quality products, the intention to use an online store, the interest of consumers in finding quality and safe food, having at the same time information about their prices and possible offers. A quite important criterion is the degree of physical accessibility to the store. The main norm about using e-trade platforms instead of physical presence in supermarkets is quite low. It is tested though if there are significantly different approaches among customers of different firms, with no surprising results to be obtained. Customers familiarized with e-shopping, to a greater extent, are highly educated but quite sensitive to price issues as well. Τhe findings of this survey reflect the consumers’ decision-making process to familiarize and use electronic platforms, instead of visiting physical stores for shopping, based on a group of motives and anti-motives relative to this alternative.

Nowadays, the sustainability of Greek dairy cattle farms is questionable due to low competitiveness and high GHG emissions. In this context, the BIOCIRCULAR project, funded by the EYDE ETAK, developed a series of alternative practices focusing on precision agriculture principles. However, the adoption of any practice from farmers is not a given, and depends on several determinants. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine farmers’ adoption decisions regarding precision-agricultural practices in Greek dairy production systems, as well as the economic and environmental impacts of this adoption. In order to achieve this, a bio-economic model was developed based on mathematical programming methods. The proposed model simulates a large number of dairy cattle farms with or without crop production, including different management strategies and their relevant costs, and provides an environmental assessment of the adopted practices based on GHG emissions. Moreover, in order to analyze farmers’ adoption decisions, different policy measures, linked to various environmental outcomes, were examined. The results highlighted that the adoption of precision-agricultural practices led to significantly better economic and environmental outcomes. Furthermore, it was found that different levels of incentives can be efficiently targeted to encourage the adoption of new feeds and, more broadly, to secure the sustainability of the sector.

Purpose: Honey is a product that has been consumed for thousands of years owing to honey's nutritional value and unique properties. This survey aimed to assess factors affecting consumer behaviour for honey in countries of the Balkans and Western Europe, on a comparative basis.Design/methodology/approach: The high importance of honey consumption along with findings from previous surveys on consumer behaviour are included in the introduction chapter. Based on these, and focussing on the fundamental consumer behaviour theories (stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and health belief model (HBM)), a questionnaire was designed and answered by 2,113 individuals from the Balkans and Western Europe, of which 2,088 were honey consumers. Principal component analysis (PCA) analysis was used to interpret the results.Findings: According to the analysis, both Western Europeans and Balkans consume honey weekly, whilst only a few consume honey daily. A crucial difference between the two samples is that Western Europeans consider honey to be an expensive product, whilst Balkans considers honey's price acceptable. In general, men consume more honey than women, and households with children purchase honey more often and in more significant quantities. In conclusion, the main reason affecting European honey consumption is the health impact, which is related to therapeutic properties and high nutritional value of honey.Originality/value: PCA results clarified the factors affecting honey consumption, whilst at the same time, consumer profiles of Balkan and Western European consumers were outlined and compared with each other, outlining a more detailed description of honey consumption in Europe.