Food waste is a significant issue in today's society, and it is essential to understand factors influencing consumer attitudes and perceptions towards suboptimal food products. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the impact of a “zero waste” label on consumer attitudes and perceptions towards suboptimal food products compared to optimal and suboptimal ones with and without the label. Online surveys with a total sample of 1,034 consumers were used in the research. The results showed that the addition of a “zero waste” label had significant impact on consumer attitudes and perceptions towards suboptimal food products, with no significant difference observed between attitudes and perceptions towards optimal and zero waste-labeled ones.

Furthermore, it was found that consumers with higher ecological concern showed significant differences in attitudes and willingness to buy between optimal and suboptimal products, but these differences disappeared with the addition of the “zero waste” label. In contrast, consumers with low ecological concern showed significant differences in attitudes and willingness to buy between optimal and suboptimal products, even with the “zero waste” label. These findings suggest that policymakers and food producers could focus on increasing consumer awareness regarding the issue of food waste to reduce negative attitudes towards suboptimal food. Additionally, the results provide valuable insights for practitioners on how to promote suboptimal products and reduce food waste.

食物浪费是当今社会的一个重大问题，了解影响消费者对次优食品的态度和看法的因素至关重要。在这项研究中，旨在调查“零浪费”标签对消费者对次优食品的态度和看法的影响，与有或没有标签的最佳和次优食品相比。该研究采用了在线调查，样本总数为 1,034 名消费者。结果表明，添加“零浪费”标签对消费者对次优食品的态度和看法有显着影响，而对最佳食品和零浪费标签食品的态度和看法之间没有观察到显着差异。

此外，研究发现，生态关注度较高的消费者对最优产品和次优产品的购买态度和意愿存在显着差异，但随着“零浪费”标签的添加，这些差异消失了。相比之下，生态关注度较低的消费者在购买最优和次优产品的态度和意愿上表现出显着差异，即使贴有“零浪费”标签。这些研究结果表明，政策制定者和食品生产商可以重点关注提高消费者对食品浪费问题的认识，以减少对次优食品的负面态度。此外，研究结果还为从业者提供了如何推广次优产品和减少食物浪费的宝贵见解。