Consumer Willingness to Pay for Seafood Safety Assurances

Abstract

Despite its many health benefits, seafood consumption has declined partially due to consumers' safety concerns. Efforts to provide safety assurance to consumers have focused on provision of government inspection programs; programs that both consumer groups and the seafood industry have called inadequate. This study explores consumer preferences for a wide array of alternative safety assurances. Consumers' selection of and willingness to pay for seafood safety assurances were elicited using an in‐person market‐like experiment. Results indicate that consumers are able to demonstrate clear preferences and values for alternative assurances. This indicates further consumer research is warranted to provide a basis for public policy recommendations regarding seafood safety assurances.