Author : Castro, Miko Mariz Cruz

Summary : The growing demand for environmentally sustainable and safe fish and fishery products in the developed countries has compelled the Philippines to comply with international standards relating to environmental sustainability and food safety. Global markets now demand information on the food they purchase. However, the local market has yet to follow the same pattern. This study aimed to analyze the importance of the two credence attributes in fish and fishery products - environmental sustainability and food safety.

Results revealed that Davao City consumers had high levels of awareness and concern for food safety but had mostly limited definitions about food safety. On the other hand, while awareness and concern levels were high, consumers paid less attention to environmental sustainability. Results from conjoint analysis showed that consumers found food safety certification the most important (40.2%), followed by traceability to specific fish landing/farming (26.1%), then sustainability practice information (17.9%), and lastly, extent of good animal welfare for target and non-target species (15.7%). There were three major segments of seafood consumers in terms of policy preferences. These are consumers who preferred policies regarding food safety certification and environmental sustainability certification (n=37), consumer who highly preferred only food safety certification (n=18), and consumers who preferred policies on food safety certification and traceability system (n=180). Food safety certification policies was the mostly preferred attribute in all three clusters. In evaluating the factors affecting consumer preference, multinomial logistic regression was used. The significant determinants of preference for both policies for food safety certifications and certified environmentally sustainable practices were average price per kilogram for capture fishery products, barangay classification, household size, retail outlet choice, sex, frequency of buying, beliefs and practices regarding environmental sustainability, and environmental concerns. On the other hand, age, years of education, and frequency of buying fish and fishery products were the factors affecting preference towards food safety certification policies only.

The results of the study showed the potential of environmental sustainability and food safety attributes in influencing the purchasing decisions of the consumers. Furthermore, the results may facilitate policymakers in raising environmental sustainability awareness and strengthening their existing laws relating to food safety and traceability systems.