Economic Analyses of Differences in Composition of Seemingly Identical Branded Food Products in the Single Market PDF Download

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ISBN: 9789276181149
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Languages : en
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Differences in composition of seemingly identical, branded food products (DC-SIP) occur when a good is marketed in one country as being identical (labelling, and appearance on packaging) to goods marketed in other countries, while that good has significantly different composition. The DC-SIP issue was brought to policymakers' attention in 2017 by tests conducted in several Eastern EU Member States, which showed that some brand owners sell products across the EU Single Market, which are of different composition, despite having the same or similar packaging. The European Parliament and the European Council stressed the importance of tackling the issue of dual quality products, and requested that the European Commission investigate these practices, and find a solution at the European level. As a response to this request, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), in collaboration with experts from Member States' competent authorities and stakeholders in the food chain, developed and applied a harmonised methodology in 2018/2019, with the objective of bringing further evidence on whether the composition of various branded food products differed across Member States. A large EU-wide testing campaign confirmed that of the food products which were evaluated, 9% were found to have differences in composition but had identical front packaging, and 22% had differences in composition and had similar front packaging (European Commission, 2019). Further initiatives regarding the relevant regulatory framework were taken by the European Commission to address DC-SIP. Moreover, in April 2018, the European Commission tabled a proposal for the amendment of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC, aimed at introducing more specific rules on the DC-SIP issue. The European Parliament and the Council adopted these amendments on 27 November 2019 (European Commission, 2018, 2019b). Furthermore, at the request of the European Parliament, the JRC carried out an economic analysis of DC-SIP in collaboration with DG GROW, to develop a better understanding of the drivers, and of the impact of this phenomenon. This report summarises the main finding of this pilot project. The specific objectives of this project were to: 1. Explain the rationale for brand owners to offer different versions of identically or similarly branded food products in different markets 2. Analyse the impact of DC-SIP on consumers' choices and welfare 3. Identify the main determinants of the occurrence of DC-SIP across Member States.

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ISBN: 9789276143031
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Languages : en
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The issue of Differences in Composition of Seemingly Identical branded Products (DC-SIP) refers to cases where a good in one Member State is marketed as identical to a good marketed in other Member States, while in reality that good has significantly different composition or characteristics (European Commission, 2019a). The main concern is that "in some parts of Europe, people are sold food of lower quality than in other countries, despite the packaging and branding being identical", as stated by President Juncker (European Commission, 2017b). This report provides a conceptual analysis of whether and how consumer purchasing decisions and welfare are affected by the fact that the same brand owner offers seemingly identical branded food products with different composition in different countries' markets. Based on the conceptual and empirical knowledge developed in the fields of demand theory, behavioural economics, marketing and consumer psychology, this report develops a framework to analyse the formation of consumer quality perceptions, purchasing decisions and welfare. We start from a basic neoclassical utility approach to assess the different possible effects of DC-SIP on consumer purchases and welfare. Given the crucial role of quality perception in determining consumers' valuation of a product, we then perform a more detailed analysis of the factors shaping quality perception, based on the Total Food Quality Model. This sheds light on how food quality perception may differ across countries and individual consumers, and how this relates to the issue of DC-SIP. Finally, the report addresses how information asymmetry regarding DC-SIP may lead to the disconfirmation of consumers' expectations once consumers realise or are informed about differences in composition between product versions. The role of deception and unfairness perception on consumer decision-making and welfare is analyzed in order to understand consumers' reactions to DC-SIP.

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ISBN: 9789268058169
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Languages : en
Pages : 0

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This annex aims to provide a conceptual understanding of how businesses active in the European single market may react to the recently added provision of Directive 2005/29/EC - the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) - concerning differences in composition of seemingly identical branded food products (DC-SIP). The analyses employ a theoretical approach to investigate this issue. More specifically, first, this annex attempts to explain theoretically the potential responses of companies to the amended UCPD by building on the previous work done in the field. Second, this annex provides a detailed theoretical analysis of the role of consumers' trust and brand equity and their implications for companies' potential responses to the amended UCPD. The purpose of this annex is to develop more comprehensive theoretical insights into companies' potential responses to the amended UCPD and to provide a conceptual basis for the empirical analyses carried out for this report based on the online company surveys. The theoretical analyses presented in this annex serve as a basis to identify relevant relationships, reduce biases when interpreting the empirical results and deploy related knowledge available in the literature when deriving and analysing the implications of the amended UCPD for companies' potential actions on DC-SIP. This annex builds on previous studies analysing DC-SIP (Colen et al., 2020; Di Marcantonio et al., 2020; Russo et al., 2020; Nes et al. 2021). For example, this includes the study of Russo et al. (2020), which investigated the factors incentivising brand owners to market different versions of the same product in different Member States and the market implications of different regulatory options. This also includes the reports of Colen et al. (2020) and Di Marcantonio et al. (2020), which investigated DC-SIP from the consumer's perspective by looking at the potential impact on consumers' purchasing decisions and welfare. Relevant for this analysis is also the study of Nes et al. (2021), which empirically estimated the economic factors and drivers (from both a producer's and a consumer's perspective) affecting the incidence of DC-SIP across Member States. Finally, this annex builds on previous studies that are indirectly related to the topic but can improve our understanding of the economic aspects of DC-SIP (e.g. Melewar and Vemmervik, 2004; Grunert, 2005; Schmid and Kotulla, 2011; Passarini et al., 2017; European Commission Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, 2020). This annex, along with the rest of this report, analyses the differences in the composition of branded food products offered in different Member States. These compositional differences should not be interpreted as quality differences, because differences in the composition of a product do not necessarily affect its quality. In addition, the theoretical analyses conducted in this annex do not investigate whether the DC-SIP practices constitute a misleading practice within the meaning of the UCPD. This type of legal analysis is out of the scope of this annex and would require case-by-case assessment by competent national authorities. Moreover, the analyses in this annex are hypothetical in nature and do not have legal implications as such.

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Publisher:
ISBN: 9789276150329
Category :
Languages : en
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Differences in composition of seemingly identical branded (food) products (DC-SIP) has been a source of growing concern in the EU in recent years. In 2013, the European Parliament drew attention to the fact that findings of various surveys show that "on a long-term basis consumers are concerned about possible differences in the quality of products with the same brand and packaging which are distributed in the single market" (European Parliament 2018). In 2016, leaders of the EU Member States (MS) brought up the issue of DC-SIP in the European Council and agreed to investigate the existence of the practice further and to eventually finding a solution at European level., During his State of the Union Address in 2017, President Juncker explicitly referred to the issue of companies selling seemingly identical products with a different composition in different MS. To provide a snapshot into how widespread this situation was in the EU, in close collaboration with experts from Member States' competent authorities and stakeholders of the food chain, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) developed a harmonised methodology for the comparative testing of DC-SIP in food across MS (European Commission, 2018). The result of the application of this methodology to different products found that 9% and 22% of evaluated food products had differences in composition but had identical or similar front packaging, respectively. The rest of the food products evaluated were either identical (33%), had similar compositional characteristics (9%) or had a different composition and also a different front package (27%) (European Commission 2019). This report aims to contribute to the existing studies on differences in composition of seemingly identical branded (food) products (DC-SIP) by verifying whether the presence of DC-SIP influences consumer preferences and willingness to pay for a different version of the same branded product. The study used two different methodologies, an (online) discrete choice experiment (DCE) and a sensory testing experiment (referred to as "lab experiment"), in six MS (i.e. Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Spain, and Sweden) with a total of 10,600 respondents so that the following could be analysed: (i) consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for different versions of the same branded food products, and (ii) the impact of information on DC-SIP on consumer preferences for domestic or other-country versions of a product.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789276601760
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Differences in composition of seemingly identically branded food products, also known as dual food quality, occur when a good is marketed as identical (i.e. under the same brand and with the same or similar package), but its composition differs substantially across Member States. In this context, what makes consumers perceive goods as identical based on their presentation and, in particular, front-of-pack design remains an open question. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by collecting data on consumers' perceptions of the front-of-pack designs of seemingly identical branded food products. The purpose is to understand how variation in the front-of-pack of a seemingly identical branded food product affects consumers' ability to perceive packages as different, whether this translates in believing that products are different, and their ability to take informed transactional decisions. The study uses primary data collected through an online survey to provide insights on two fronts. First, it gives information about whether, and under what circumstances, the front-of-pack presentation allows consumers to identify versions of products; second, it indicates whether these differences translate into consumers believing that the products are different. Overall, the results indicate the influence of front-of-pack design elements on the perception of package and product differences and on consumer choices; however, these differ between design elements and products, highlighting the need for a case-by-case assessment. This suggests that noticeable changes in some packaging elements do not convey differences in the product. Overall, claims about the origin of ingredients, changes in package colour and images and logos making a claim about the quality of the product show the largest impacts. The findings could provide authorities and interested stakeholders dealing with this topic with useful insights.

Author: Roosen, Jutta
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1800372051
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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This Modern Guide provides detailed theoretical and empirical insights into key areas of research in food economics. It takes a forward-looking perspective on how different actors in the food system shape the sustainability of food production, distribution, and consumption, as well as on major challenges to efficient and inclusive food systems.

Author: Charles Sanderson Cathcart
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bone meal
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309452961
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 583

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Book Description
In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Author: Barry Schwartz
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061748994
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309468086
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 235

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Book Description
Thanks to remarkable advances in modern health care attributable to science, engineering, and medicine, it is now possible to cure or manage illnesses that were long deemed untreatable. At the same time, however, the United States is facing the vexing challenge of a seemingly uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care. Total medical expenditures are rapidly approaching 20 percent of the gross domestic product and are crowding out other priorities of national importance. The use of increasingly expensive prescription drugs is a significant part of this problem, making the cost of biopharmaceuticals a serious national concern with broad political implications. Especially with the highly visible and very large price increases for prescription drugs that have occurred in recent years, finding a way to make prescription medicinesâ€"and health care at largeâ€"more affordable for everyone has become a socioeconomic imperative. Affordability is a complex function of factors, including not just the prices of the drugs themselves, but also the details of an individual's insurance coverage and the number of medical conditions that an individual or family confronts. Therefore, any solution to the affordability issue will require considering all of these factors together. The current high and increasing costs of prescription drugsâ€"coupled with the broader trends in overall health care costsâ€"is unsustainable to society as a whole. Making Medicines Affordable examines patient access to affordable and effective therapies, with emphasis on drug pricing, inflation in the cost of drugs, and insurance design. This report explores structural and policy factors influencing drug pricing, drug access programs, the emerging role of comparative effectiveness assessments in payment policies, changing finances of medical practice with regard to drug costs and reimbursement, and measures to prevent drug shortages and foster continued innovation in drug development. It makes recommendations for policy actions that could address drug price trends, improve patient access to affordable and effective treatments, and encourage innovations that address significant needs in health care.