ABSTRACT
Introduction The maturity and saturation of the EU food market have forced the food industry to accelerate product differentiation to gain or increase market shares. In accordance with the information asymmetry theory, producers generally know the product quality much better than buyers do (Luhmann 1979, Darby and Karni 1973). Further, due to the ongoing advancements in food systems, consumer knowledge of and engagement with the production of food has declined (Meyer et al. 2012). However, it does not mean they are not attentive in their food choices; in fact, they show a growing interest in product characteristics such as food composition, methods of production, origin, and quality certification (Teuber 2011). Therefore, it is imperative that consumers should receive information so they can make “informed food choices”. Certification labeling schemes have become a popular means for suppliers to deliver information about food quality and other product characteristics (Janssen and Hamm 2012). As Kneasfey (2013) argues, they are very important when consumers do not buy directly
1 Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (IAEI), Senior researcher, Mánesova 75, 12000 Prague 2.
