Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 207 Document Number: D13037
Notes:
6 pages, Kefirs are fermented beverages containing yeast and bacteria produced by the fermentation of water or milk with kefir grains. Because microorganism density may influence a product's health benefits, label accuracy regarding viable bacterial density and taxonomy of fermented foods is important. In this study, the microbiota of 5 commercial kefir products were measured quantitatively using standard plating techniques and characterized using high-resolution, long-read 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. To enumerate viable lactic acid bacteria, 2 lots of each product were plated on de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe agar upon opening and following 14 d and incubated under anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Results revealed that 66% of products with a guaranteed count of colony-forming units per gram overstated microorganism density by at least 1 log, with only product E exceeding 1 × 109 cfu/g. Sequencing results demonstrated moderate product label accuracy in regard to taxonomy, yet several products contained bacterial species above the minimum detectable threshold (0.001% relative abundance) that were not included on the labels (e.g., Streptococcus salivarius, Lactobacillus paracasei). Our results demonstrate a moderate level of labeling accuracy for commercial kefir products intended for human consumption. Regulatory agencies and consumers must continue to scrutinize these products and demand a higher level of accuracy and quality.
Godfrey, D. Matthew (author), Feng, Patrick (author), and Department of Marketing, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Department of Communication, Media and Film, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
USA: Emerald Publishing
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08305
Online from publications. 3 pages., Report of thoughts about dealing with foodservice staffing and labor challenges from the chief operating officer of DNO Produce, Columbus, Ohio.
16 pages, Social media are currently not only used for communication between individuals but an increasing number of companies use these means as simple and fast sales and communication channels. The importance of communication with consumers through social networks, such as Facebook, is essential in today's marketplace for small businesses, for which this tool is one of the cheapest alternatives to communicating and selling products. This trend did not escape agriculture-specific local farmers who process fresh local products. The study's objective is to highlight the importance of social media communication in the agri-food sector, specifically in the sub-sector of local fresh products, as well as to determine which consumers are most interested in local products from farmers communicated through Facebook. We conducted the research using our Facebook page called Ours-Yours (in Slovak Naše-Vaše). This account was created for research purposes and has a clearly defined objective of supporting and promoting local fresh products from small Slovak farmers. Research involved 42 small farms that sell fresh local dairy products. From these farmers we discovered what form of marketing communication they had used in the past. Afterwards, we visited eight selected farms, took professional photos of their products, and promoted them under one brand using our Facebook page Ours- Yours (Naše-Vaše). The methodology of the research was based on an analysis of Facebook posts, which were visualised, uniformly graphically processed photographs of the products. Contributions were advertised on radio located 50 kilometres from the farms to ensure local marketing of the products. We measured demographic factors (gender and age) and users' interaction with individual posts. Research has shown that women between the ages of 45 -- 64, who follow Facebook mostly from their mobile phones, are most interested in Facebook posts with local fresh products (and information about them)
13 pages, An increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the German organic agri-food sector involves citizens through different community financing models. While such models provide alternative funding sources as well as marketing opportunities to SMEs, they allow private investors to combine their financial and ethical concerns by directly supporting the development of a more sustainable food system. Due to the low level of financial intermediation, community financing is characterized by close relations between investors and investees. Against this background, we apply the proximity concept from economic geography to explore spatial and relational aspects of community financing in the German organic agri-food sector. Based on a qualitative multiple case study approach, we find that the relevance of proximity is twofold. While different forms of proximity between SMEs and their potential investors are key success factors, proximity is also considered as one desired outcome of community financing. Furthermore, our results reveal that the extent to which SMEs rely on particular proximity dimensions distinguishes two different approaches to community financing.
Available online at www.centmapress.org, Authors examine ways in which club theory can help provide an alternative approach to recognizing and overcoming market failure in agricultural and food value chains.
This paper presents the attitudes and behaviour of young consumers towards food waste based on a pilot qualitative research and data published in the literature. Qualitative research was conducted with the use of focus group method, with approximately 8–10 selected students per group. Four focus group sessions were held, with open discussion led by a moderator and the scenario containing problematic issues. The study included a total of thirty-seven students, aged 22– 25 years. Studies have shown that negative attitude of household towards food waste is not frequently reflected in consumers’ behaviour, despite their fundamental knowledge on how to reduce food waste. Respondents emphasized the need for educational campaigns. Properly selected and presented information will stimulate both consumer’s attitude and behaviour.
