Trust Level in Organic Food Products

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), through its International Opportunities Fund Program, awarded $70,313 to Associate Professor Leila Hamzaoui for her research project entitled “Building Trust in Organic Food Products: Crossing Consumers, Distribution and Certification Organizations’ Perspectives”. Dr. Mehdi Zahaf, Associate Professor from the Faculty of Business Administration at Lakehead University (Ontario) and Dr. Lucie Sirieix, Professor of Marketing from UMR Moisa at Montpellier SupAgro-SESG (France) are collaborating on this project.

The organic food industry has become the focus of worldwide interest due to a level of trust and mistrust held by consumers towards organic food products. This study will explore the important decisions regarding product distribution, labelling and standardisation that are being made in France and Canada. These decisions will not only affect the future of the organic food industry but also the long term perceptions of consumers.