Consumer interest in information provided by food traceability systems in Japan

• Japanese consumers’ interest in information provided by food traceability systems is generally low.
• The harvest date, production method, and production method certification are the items of most interest.
• Males with lower education levels are more likely to trace information through traceability systems.
• Females with higher education levels have greater interest in specific information.
• Segments of consumers have different preferences for specific information.

Food traceability systems are an important means to provide food safety and quality information to consumers. We studied consumers’ interest in the information provided through food traceability systems by examining a national representative sample of 6243 Japanese consumers through a 2006 online survey. The ratio of respondents who have accessed information through traceability systems is low. With respect to the 11 kinds of information we focused on in our study, respondents attached most importance to harvest date, production method, and production method certification. Our results show that more educated females have a stronger desire to access more specific information related to fresh produce, whereas less educated males are more likely to trace information through fresh produce traceability systems. We have outlined the implications of these findings.