Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report a survey in random-selected supermarkets in Italy in order to identify the attitudes and perceptions of consumers toward milk and in particular toward donkey milk.Design/methodology/approach: The analysis was conducted through Google Forms platform of docs.google interviews with a sample of 705 consumers who were given a questionnaire to collect information about their economic status and their attitudes toward milk and special milk consumption.Findings: The results were analyzed in order to identify the socio-economic and behavioral characteristics of homogeneous groups of consumers. They consume milk mainly because it is not expensive and it is possible to easily buy it in the supermarket. They consume special milk mainly because of food allergies or intolerances. They would like to buy special milk at large-scale retail trade outlets; they underline difficulties in finding and purchasing it. They think that the price of special milk is very high.Originality/value: The results showed that those who occasionally consume special milk choose it because it is more nourishing or for health reasons; there is also a significant association between the judgment on prices of special milk and the frequency of purchase. The estimation of a generalized linear model allowed to highlight that only age and the presence of health problems/intolerances are significant predictors of special milk consumption.

ANALYSIS AND MODELS FOR THE REDUCTION OF FOOD WASTE IN ORGANIZED LARGE-SCALE RETAIL DISTRIBUTION IN EASTERN SICILY

In the last few decades, industrialized nations have become aware of the extent of how unsustainable some of the production models used are and have therefore adopted policies that aim both to save energy and to safeguard the environment through the use of alternative energy sources and, among these, biomass. The use of these alternative energy sources is very important: for example, this allows the saving of 200 g of CO₂ per product, in addition to avoiding the emission of sulfur and other pollutants. The energy produced from biomass can be recovered by burning the material directly for heat, and turning it into fuel, to make it more convenient to use. The choice of destination of biomass depends on the characteristics of the biomass available, because the content of carbon and nitrogen, moisture and volatile substances influence the choice of energy conversion. The aim of this work is to briefly outline an analysis on the importance that biomass can have especially ‘pastazzo’, which is the squeezed pulp (of the processed citrus fruits), for the enhancement of a sustainable economy, sought after in recent years not only by the EU but in an entire international context. The study is conducted by a research group as part of the Department Sefisast, Section of Agricultural Economics and Policy, specifically directed by Prof. M. Lanfranchi. The research is based on the assumption that one can obtain both energy and bio-ethanol, not only from agricultural waste but also from the waste products of the citrus industry arising from the processes of extracting juice and oil from skins. The use of the ‘squeezed pulp’ could possibly help solve some of the serious environmental problems especially in the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Sicily, which is a major citrus producing region. This particular study aims to assess the cost of producing ethanol from squeezed pulp, with particular attention to the processing of lemons, a product in which the province of Messina has a leading role in terms of utilized agricultural area. The first part of this work presents a discussion on the evolutionary aspects of EU energy policy; in the second part, it explains the importance of biomass and its potential uses, and the last part contains data on the potential calories that can be obtained from the processing of squeezed pulp.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to attempt to outline the standard profile of the typical wine consumer, by identifying some relevant features that can influence his/her purchasing choices. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to identify the pre-eminent attributes for wine consumers and the different levels of importance that consumers ascribe to the attributes identified at the time of purchase.Design/methodology/approach: In order to collect the necessary data, an ad hoc questionnaire was utilized. The questionnaire, which was anonymous, was directly distributed with the face-to-face method. In total, 1,500 copies of the questionnaire had been prepared. The data collected were processed through the use of the binary logistic regression model and the ordinal logistic regression model. The first binary logistic regression model allows to evaluate the dependence of the dichotomous variable on some potential predictors. The ordinal logistic regression model, known in literature as a cumulative model of proportional quotas, is generally appropriate for situations in which the ordinal response variable has discrete categories.Findings: The results returned by the elaboration of the binary logistic regression model refer to the influence of the variables sex, age, educational status and income on the “wine consumption” result, which is a dichotomous variable. The only variables found to be statistically significant are gender and educational status. The most significant variables that emerged from the implementation of the ordinary logistic regression model are gender, brand, choice based on price, place of production, harvest and certification. The analysis carried out has shown that with reference to wine as a product, it is essential to focus on several attributes, among which there are of course quality and brand.Research limitations/implications: Although field experiments are extremely useful for testing behavioral hypotheses, they are often limited by a small sample. Future research in this area might focus on the knowledge level of sustainable wine of the consumer. In relation to the knowledge of the characteristics of the wine, it is possible to estimate the willingness to pay a surplus for a wine produced with sustainable methods by the consumer and the possible level of price premium.Originality/value: The originality of the research lies mainly in a deeper knowledge of wine consumption trends. This information is useful to better define the wine market and to allow, especially to small businesses, to establish effective marketing strategies in relation to the real preferences of consumers and the decision-making process of choice put in place by them. In order to achieve this, the influence of all the variables on the “satisfaction of wine consumption” result was evaluated. The strength of this paper is the use of an adequate statistical approach based on the use of models, typical of inferential statistics, to reach conclusions that can be extended to the entire population of wine growers.

In Italy, the consumption of pork meat is increasing, despite consumers’ attitudes being addressed toward a greater sensitivity about animal welfare and its link with safe food. Considering the relatively high animal welfare standards and the divergence in public interest in farm animal welfare and ethical issues, the objective of this study—in continuation of our previous paper relating to consumer behavior and preferences in welfare-friendly pork breeding—was to investigate habits of pork consumers regarding pig welfare, principally evaluating their willingness to pay (WTP) a higher price for pork obtained using raising techniques with an approach based on animal welfare. An ad hoc questionnaire-based survey was submitted to consumers (n = 404) in Messina province, Italy. Results suggest that 47% of consumers were willing to pay an additional price for pork from farms that apply specific animal welfare standards. Positive correlations were between WTP and farming techniques (p = 0.001), organic farming methods (p = 0.001), and farms in which animal welfare is taken care of and guaranteed (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that consumers intend to pay a higher price for pork, like other animal products obtained using animal-friendly raising techniques. The sensitivity to the animal welfare of a single human being may influence consumers’ attitudes toward pork consumption.