Information Asymmetries, Labels and Trust in the German Food Market - A Critical Analysis Based on the Economics of Information
Birte Karstens and Frank-Martin BelzTechnical University of Munich
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, western European food companies have introduced an increasing number of sustainable food products that focus on health and diet as well as on social and environmental aspects, for example, functional food with health claims, organic and fair trade food products (Belz 2005a). Due to asymmetrical information between consumers and food processors concerning product quality, consumers are often mistrustful and sceptical regarding the health, social and...