ANALYSIS OF CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOUR OF DIFFERENT SEAFOOD PRODUCTS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Nutrition has always been a priority need for human beings, but depending on the circumstances in which this need is met, the choices and uses of food consumption can change. A significant example is the diversification of food consumption that can be observed with the improvement of the living standards and socioeconomic conditions of the population. The choice of food and the related consumer behaviour is influenced by several factors that interact with each other. The analysis of the consumption of fishery products is very topical, and is the object of analysis of many research studies. In this context, there are several analysed aspects, such as issues of health, environmental problems related to the overconsumption of some species that may affect the ecological and environmental balance, the importance of some species over others, the origin of products, etc. This paper focuses on the consumption patterns of fish products, and in particular on the consumption of oily fish among Sicilian consumers, in an attempt to identify the main variables that influence the purchasing decisions, eating habits, and consumer attitudes and patterns of behaviour. The research results have shown that the socioeconomic characteristics of consumers such as gender, age, and education, can influence the consumption of oily fish in terms of frequency and the perception of freshness of the purchased fish, and its place in the preferences of the consumer and consequent probability of purchase.