Understanding Nutrient - Contaminant Tradeoffs in fish consumer preferences
Evidence from Kenya
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19232691 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kira Lancker (0000-0001-8787-1148, University of Copenhagen, corresponding author), Christopher B Barrett (0000-0001-9139-2721, Cornell University), Kathryn J Fiorella (0000-0002-8625-2473, Cornell University), Christopher Mulanda Aura (0000-0001-9590-9652, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute), Hezron Awandu (0000-0001-7938-4788, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute), Fonda J Awuor (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute), Patrick Otuo (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 142 |
| Pages | 103120 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Food Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0306-9192 • E-ISSN: 1873-5657 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.foodpol.2026.103120 |
| OpenAlex | W7164577480 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 72 |
Fish consumers are often challenged by tradeoffs between nutritional benefits and contaminant risks, which increase due to environmental pollution. Health campaigns and labeling initiatives can guide decision-making by providing information both on contaminant risk and nutritional value of a product, but it is not well understood how consumers react to such complex dual labels. We use data from a stated choice experiment in Kenya’s Lake Victoria region to study how consumers respond to dual labels on fish products, and how their responses to each label interact. We focus on the tradeoff between polyunsaturated fatty acids and contamination with microcystins, a class of toxins produced by harmful algae blooms that can accumulate in fish tissue. Our findings suggest that, faced with a dual information policy, consumers react rationally to dual health attribute labeling, and that nutrient labels and contaminant warnings can function concurrently, indeed even be mutually reinforcing, but pose a risk of inadvertently concentrating unhealthful consumption in less responsive subpopulations
Consumption (sociology) · Diversity of fish · Dual (grammatical number) · Dual function · Fish · Fish <Actinopterygii> · Fish consumption · Function (biology) · Nutrient · Aquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity · Economic and Environmental Valuation · Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |