Effects of radioactive safety information on consumer fears of radioactive contamination from oyster products in Japan

After the 2011 earthquake in Japan, the Miyagi oyster industry suffered from the destruction of facilities and reputational damage, due to consumers’ fear of radioactive contamination of oysters (Crassostrea gigas). This study examines whether positive information on radioactivity sometimes triggers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMarine policy Vol. 126; p. 104401
Main Authors Wakamatsu, Hiroki, Miyata, Tsutom
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2021
Subjects
Choice experiment
Consumer preferences
Ecolabel
Information treatment
Oyster
Radioactive contamination
Ecolabel
Radioactive contamination
Information treatment
Oyster
Consumer preferences
Choice experiment
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Summary:After the 2011 earthquake in Japan, the Miyagi oyster industry suffered from the destruction of facilities and reputational damage, due to consumers’ fear of radioactive contamination of oysters (Crassostrea gigas). This study examines whether positive information on radioactivity sometimes triggers a negative reminiscence effect on consumer preference for seafood. We conducted choice experiments on 3000 seafood consumers to evaluate two oyster-types, one from Miyagi, devastated by the earthquake, and the other from Hiroshima, distant from the Eastern part of Japan. Each had different attributes, including the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) ecolabels. We examined consumers’ willingness to pay for the oysters using a random effect logit model, and found that consumers adversely reacted to information assuring the safe radioactivity levels of the products. The information treatment was estimated and had a substantially negative effect on Miyagi oysters from 206 to −27 JPY. The information also increased the disparity in willingness to pay for oysters from Hiroshima and Miyagi. Before consumers were aware of the information regarding product radioactivity levels, the MSC and ASC ecolabeled Miyagi oysters were estimated to be 302 (MSC) and 248 (ASC) JPY, respectively. Meanwhile, after information awareness, they changed to 269 (MSC) and 278 (ASC) JPY. The results suggest that ecolabels play a role in compensating for the loss due to reputational damage.
ISSN:0308-597X
1872-9460
DOI:10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104401