Abstract

The paper focuses on consumer behaviour in front of emerging food risk factors. At the centre of the analysis is the relationship between food safety and consumption of a typical local cheese (mozzarella) following news of the "rubbish emergency" in the province of Naples, reported by newspapers during the 2007-2008 winter. The paper is organised as follows: - First, we try to analyse: a) sales trends for mozzarella cheese during the October 2007-April 2008 period; b) changes in consumption patterns for mozzarella cheese (substitution, temporary or permanent abandonment). - The second part of the paper aims to verifying: a) the relationship between food safety and consumption of mozzarella; b) reasons supporting both stopping the consumption of mozzarella and maintaining previous habits.