An integration of traceability elements and their impact in consumer's trust

Abstract: Traceability information is a solution to communicate safety practices, increasing consumer's trust. This study aims to analyse traceability elements used in products and their impact in trust in Brazil. In the first phase, 4577 food products of two supermarkets were analysed. Results show that traceability information is practically unexplored: only 1.07% of the food products presents traceability information, indicating in most cases the name of the producer. The second phase was a survey that analysed attitudes of 631 consumers towards traceability. It is possible to affirm that disease/pest and inputs traceability are the elements that increase consumers' trust in food safety. Using the IRT model, process and inputs traceability are the most relevant elements in the traceability system. These results have implications on traceability systems performance improvement in Brazil, since companies should focus on these elements to improve their food systems and meet consumers' expectations.