Is Embedding Entailed in Consumer Valuation of Food Safety Characteristics?

Consumers’ preferences for food safety characteristics are investigated with particular focus on existence of an embedding effect. Embedding exists if consumer valuation of food safety is insensitive to scope. Two choice experiments have been conducted valuing food safety in respectively minced pork and chicken breasts, exemplified by avoiding human risks of Salmonella infections and strengthening the restrictions of using antibiotics in the pork production and in terms of avoiding human risks of Salmonella and Campylobacter infections respectively. The results showed no indications of an embedding effect between the food safety characteristics, in neither of the cases.