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Innovation in der Agrar‐ und Ernährungswirtschaft und der funktionelle Lebensmittelmarkt in Europa: Bedenken und Herausforderungen
Author(s) -
Annunziata Azzurra,
Vecchio Riccardo
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
eurochoices
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.487
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1746-692X
pISSN - 1478-0917
DOI - 10.1111/1746-692x.12027
Subject(s) - legislation , european union , marketing , business , product (mathematics) , functional food , variety (cybernetics) , food industry , food products , health claims on food labels , novel food , international trade , political science , medicine , food science , chemistry , geometry , mathematics , pathology , artificial intelligence , computer science , law
summary Agri‐food Innovation and the Functional Food Market in Europe: Concerns and Challenges Europe has recently experienced an increase in several chronic diseases linked to dietary and lifestyle habits. As a result, enormous progress has been made to establish the scientific basis for food developments in the areas of health, nutrition and processing. The food industry has rapidly reacted to this trend by developing a growing variety of new products with health‐related claims and images, including functional foods that are selected by consumers for their health‐promoting properties. The European markets for functional foods are less developed in general than those in North America and Japan. This has often been ascribed to an inconsistent legislation and there is a broad consensus that there is a need for a regulatory framework in the European Union to protect consumers, promote fair trade, and encourage product innovation in the food industry. This article reviews the regulatory aspects of functional foods in Europe and offers an overview of the current market situation. Moreover, the main cognitive, motivational and attitudinal determinants of consumer acceptance of functional foods in different European countries are discussed, providing several practical insights. The insights presented could help practitioners make more effective strategic and tactical marketing decisions.