Consumer Perception of Food Quality and Safety in Western Balkan Countries: Evidence from Albania and Kosovo

• Published in: Foods Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 160
• Main Authors: Haas, Rainer, Imami, Drini, Miftari, Iliriana, Ymeri, Prespa, Grunert, Klaus, Meixner, Oliver
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 14-01-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Albanian consumers; Animal welfare; Best practice; bootstrapping; Brand image; Consumer groups; Consumer surveys; Consumers; Consumption; Correlation analysis; Food; Food products; Food quality; Food safety; Food science; Kosovar consumers; Markets; Natural & organic foods; Perceptions; Personal health; Product safety; Quality standards; Reputations; Safety; Transition economies; Trust; Western Balkan countries; Kosovo; Serbia; Albania; food safety; bootstrapping; Western Balkan countries; Kosovar consumers; Albanian consumers; food quality
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods10010160

Domestic food markets are of significant importance to Kosovar and Albanian companies because access to export markets is under-developed, partly as a result of the gaps in food safety and quality standards. Kosovar and Albanian consumers' use of food safety attributes and their evaluation of the quality of domestic food versus imported food are the research objectives of this study. The paper is based on a structured consumer survey of 300 Kosovars and 349 Albanians analyzing their perceptions of issues related to food safety and quality, measured through two respective batteries of items using a 5-point Likert scale. We used the
-test to identify differences between populations, correlation analysis and the bootstrapping method. Despite the prevalent problems with food safety, consumers in both countries consider domestic food to be safer as well as of higher quality than imported products. Kosovars are more likely than Albanians to perceive domestic food products to be significantly better than imported products. Female and better educated consumers use information related to food safety more often. Expiry date, domestic and local origin, and brand reputation are the most frequently used safety and quality cues for both samples. International food standards such as ISO or HACCP are less frequently used as quality cues by these consumer groups. It is important to strengthen the institutional framework related to food safety and quality following best practices from EU countries.