【Article Information】

In March 2026, a research team led by Professor Shenggen Fan from the Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy (AGFEP) at China Agricultural University published a paper titled “How Does Information Influence Consumers’ Evaluation of Biofortified Foods? A Meta-Regression Analysis” in the Journal of Agricultural Economics, a leading international journal in the field of agricultural economics.

Dr. Tan Yuli, a Ph.D. graduate from the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University supervised by Professor Fan, is the first author of this paper. Associate Professor Wang Jingjing is the corresponding author. Co-authors include Professor Shenggen Fan (AGFEP), Hans De Steur and Guo Yixuan from Ghent University (Belgium), Joshua Wesana from Mountains of the Moon University (Uganda), and Deng Tai’an from the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72061147002; 72203214).

The Journal of Agricultural Economics is an SSCI-indexed journal with an impact factor of 4.2. It is a JCR Q1 journal and a well-recognized international publication in the field of agricultural economics and policy.

【Article Content】

Micronutrient deficiency, also known as “hidden hunger,” remains a serious public health challenge worldwide, especially in developing countries. Biofortification, an agricultural technique that enriches essential micronutrients in staple crops, is considered an effective intervention to improve the nutritional status of vulnerable populations and achieve healthy and environmentally sustainable development. However, the market promotion of such foods depends heavily on consumer awareness and acceptance. Existing research indicates that information interventions play a key role in shaping consumer evaluations of biofortified foods. However, due to variations in information intervention strategies, product attributes (e.g., conventional breeding vs. transgenic technology), and the socioeconomic environments in which consumers live, the literature presents divergent findings and lacks systematic quantitative synthesis.

To address this gap, this study employs a meta-regression analysis to comprehensively and systematically synthesize existing research and explore the mechanisms through which information interventions influence consumer evaluations of biofortified foods. The analysis focuses on how information content, framing, and core product attributes affect consumer acceptance. The results show that information has a significant but modest positive effect on consumer evaluation (Cohen’s d = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.25–0.30), with effect sizes moderated by product characteristics, information design, study design, and cultural context. These findings not only reveal the significant driving force of information characteristics on consumer willingness to pay and evaluation but also identify the heterogeneity of information intervention effects across different socioeconomic contexts, providing empirical insights for designing more targeted information interventions to effectively promote consumer acceptance of biofortified foods.

【Abstract】

Biofortified foods offer a promising solution to micronutrient deficiencies affecting billions worldwide, yet their potential remains constrained by limited consumer acceptance. While information plays a critical role in shaping consumers' evaluation of biofortified food products, existing evidence on its effectiveness in improving acceptance remains inconclusive across different contexts. Moreover, there is a notable lack of systematic synthesis of the effects of information interventions, particularly given the wide variation in outcome measures used in the literature. This study examines how information influences consumer evaluations of biofortified foods and identifies factors that moderate its impact. Using meta-regression analysis based on 87 effect sizes from 34 empirical studies across 22 countries, we estimate the average effect of information provision and explore the influencing factors. Results from random-effects models and weighted least squares regressions show that information has a significant though modest positive effect on consumer evaluation (Cohen's d = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.25–0.30). Variations in impacts can be explained by product characteristics, information design, study design and contextual factors. Future intervention campaigns should be tailored to enhance consumer acceptance and support biofortified food deployment in regions with nutritional deficits.

【Article Link】

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1477-9552.70031