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The purpose of this paper is to determine how the typical purchasers of products with nutrition symbols differ from other purchasers with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. Furthermore the authors examine if the typical purchaser is similar across six product types in Denmark and in the Netherlands.

The authors estimate probit models using a representative panel of households registering all their daily purchases during a year, three years after the introduction of a nutrition symbol in Denmark and the Netherlands (the Keyhole and the Choices). The purchase data are matched with information about labelling status. Other product and purchase characteristics, such as store-type and organic, are controlled for.

Households with children tend to have a lower probability of purchasing labelled products compared to other household types, while urbanity increases the probability. This holds both across countries and across products. In Denmark education is positively correlated with label purchase, while in the Netherlands it is income. Generally, the observable characteristics of the consumers are poor in explaining the probability of purchasing labelled products which suggests that other aspects as the underlying attitudes and general health awareness may be of greater importance in identifying these consumers.

There is a lack of studies analysing the effect of front-of-pack symbols on households’ product choices based on observed data as most previous studies are based on stated observation or purchase intentions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how news about food‐related health risks affects consumers’ demands for safe food products.

By identifying structural breaks in an econometrically estimated demand model, news with permanent impact on demand is distinguished from news with temporary impact. The Danish demand for pasteurized versus shell eggs is used as an illustrative case.

Negative safety news about one product variety can provide significant stimulation to the demand for safe varieties. Severe negative news about the safety of shell eggs induces a permanent increase in the demand for pasteurized eggs, while more moderate negative news influences demand temporarily and to a lesser extent. There is, however, considerable variation in the response to food safety news across socio‐demographic groups of consumers.

The study has focused on the demand for raw eggs. Responses to food safety news may differ across foods. Furthermore, the study abstracts from possible cross‐effects of safety news concerning other foods.

The findings may be utilized for optimization of the timing and targeting of food safety information campaigns.

The paper combines information, food safety and econometric methods to analyze the cross‐impacts between negative food safety news and the demand for safe foods.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate determinants for the viability of school lunch programs with a zero‐price start‐up period.

Data sources include application material, questionnaire surveys among the pupils, parents, and staff at the participating schools, follow‐up telephone interviews with the staff, as well as interviews with suppliers. Data are analysed using principal components analysis and logistic regression.

An econometric analysis suggests that price, school size, demand‐stimulating activities related to the schools' support and the users' feeling of ownership, as well as internal professionalism and leadership in the implementation of the school lunch program are important for the viability of the program. These components may, to some extent, compensate for the gap between cost and users' willingness to pay for school lunches.

The study contributes to increase awareness of the many determinants and barriers for the viability of school lunches. Experience from the study demonstrates a significant challenge in making user requirements for quality, product diversity and willingness to pay meet with the costs of supplying school lunches.

The focus on the economic viability on school lunches is a new approach to the topic compared to the literature, which mainly concentrates on the physical and environmental effects of providing food in schools