Keywords
HAB
aquatic ecosystems
Lake Victoria
food safety
consumer choices
How to Cite
Funding data
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Laidlaw Foundation http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003249
Abstract
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in freshwater ecosystems worldwide are a growing threat to human health and the health of aquatic ecosystems. In East Africa, HABs threaten the livelihoods and health of the more than 42 million people who live in the Lake Victoria basin. Since fish is an important food source in this area, understanding how food safety concerns from HABs influence consumer choices is crucial to any policy response. My findings highlight the severity of the impacts of HABs in Lake Victoria and the danger to the surrounding community, yet the existing research on food safety and consumer perceptions is somewhat limited. In this paper, I summarize recent updates to the literature regarding harmful algal blooms and discrete choice experiments to explore what existing literature can tell us about how algal blooms may affect consumer choices.
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