Xavier Gellynck

• Doctor of Business Administration
• Ghent University

Due to their nutritional value, insects are increasingly proposed as alternative food sources to address nutritional deficiencies. To better understand their potential for young children, this study aims to compare four insect-based instant porridges (termites and grasshoppers) and a standard ’control’ instant porridge to examine how information ab...

The growing global demand for sustainable and safe food is a major challenge that increases the need for advanced alternatives such as tissue engineering (TE). TE offers promising solutions by improving yields, nutritional value and resilience of crops, while also producing cultivated meat that reduces the environmental impact of livestock farming....

Green supply chain management practices (GSCMPs) and their driving factors have been extensively studied globally, yet specific industry contexts remain underexplored. This study provides a pioneering assessment of GSCMPs within the Ethiopian leather and leather products industry. The primary objective is to evaluate the implementation level of str...

Plant tissue culture biotechnology offers a sustainable way to adapt to climate change by propagating disease-free plants with the desired traits. This study investigated stakeholders’ agronomic, social and economic evaluation of tissue culture plants (TCPs). It unravels microlevel outcomes and indicators that determine TCPs evaluation through a sy...

The recent global cocoa supply decline calls for investigating disease‐resistant and single‐origin cocoa varieties in Asia. While genetic analysis has identified promising clones, information on bean quality and flavour remains limited. This research aims to analyse quality attributes of single‐origin cocoa beans and key volatile organic compounds...

Fine flavor cocoa (FFC) is known for its unique flavor and aroma characteristics, which vary by region. However, a comprehensive overview of the common sensory attributes used to describe FFC beans and chocolate is lacking. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to analyze existing literature and identify the most commonly used sensory attrib...

Consumers’ valuation of food traceability has received considerable attention in the existing literature. However, the outcomes of the various studies often exhibit inconsistencies and lack conclusive consensus. With the growing concern about food quality and safety, the emergence of new technologies and the increasing demand for more transparency...

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers' evaluation of blockchain-based traceability information. It also examined how the use of quick response (QR) codes for traceability affects consumers' evaluation of traceable food products. Design/methodology/approach An online choice experiment was conducted...

Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies have great potential to minimize climate risks, sequester carbon, improve food security, and achievement of Sustainable Intensification (SI) goals. This makes their adoption a necessity for achieving sustainable agricultural systems. Despite the benefits and all efforts, smallholder farmers in developing...

Building upon resource-based view ( RBV ) theory, this cross-sectional study employed binary logistic regression to examine the influence of firm-level factors on the performance of 435 Tanzanian micro and small agri-food processing firms. The results of the study show that intangible resources, age (enterprise, manager), and management practices (...

To achieve a more sustainable food system, it is necessary to shift toward more plant-based protein sources. Europe currently imports huge amounts of protein crops each year, mainly soy, which has adverse environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Therefore, there is a need to increase local production. Despite the numerous advantages associated with...

Recently, new agricultural technologies have emerged to increase sustainable food production, often referred to as “Agriculture 4.0.” They consist of more advanced precision agriculture technologies, such as sensors, robotics, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which can lead to environmental and economic benefits for farmers and society. Despite...

This study examined three collaborative scenarios for the implementation of a high‐level aseptic filling machine in small‐scale food processing for improved food safety in short food supply chains. A two‐stage research design was implemented, based on an exploration and evaluation phase. Two workshops were organised to conceptualise the following s...

Spatially extended Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) can enable small-scale producers' resilience capacity to external shocks, offering secure and traceable food sources. Furthermore, expanding sustainable commercial cocoa crops in spatially extended SFSCs may increase the production of cocoa beans in a way that is environmentally sustainable and so...

Weed control is a basic agricultural practice, typically achieved through herbicides and mechanical weeders. Because of the negative environmental impacts of these tools, alternative solutions are being developed and adopted worldwide. Following recent technical developments, an autonomous laser-based weeding system (ALWS) now offers a possible sol...

The managers/owners of the agri-food producing companies located in remote rural areas, with limited knowledge and resources for new technologies cannot benefit from the increased performance and competitiveness that the Agriculture 4.0. offers. Meanwhile, those managers/owners often keep very close relationship with their employees and need social...

This cross-sectional study employs resource-based view and resource dependence theories to examine the determinants of access to external finance at firm-level and the effect of access to external finance on performance of 328 agri-food firms. Applying binary logistic regression, results indicate that firm age, ownership, sources of financing, and...

Due to its nutritional quality and palatability, chocolate milk beverages are gaining popularity globally. Alkalized cocoa powder is mostly used in its production since it provides for more intense color and dispersibility, but it has a negative effect on the phytochemical content of cocoa powder. Studies have suggested that water buffalo milk is s...

Agronomic biofortification, the application of fertilizer to increase micronutrient concentrations in staple food crops, has been increasingly promoted as a valuable approach to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies, but its success inevitably depends on farmers’ acceptance and adoption. By using iodine fertilizers as a case, this study aimed to und...

Origin-based identification and awards are used by craft chocolate makers as cues to signify superior quality and more inclusive practices. However, there is a lack of consumer choice and willingness to pay (WTP) literature that explores the impact of sensory and external cues, particularly award and origin labels, of craft chocolates. Thus, this s...

Plant-based food (PBF) is on the rise as an alternative for animal-based food. Europe is leading in the market size compared with the global market. However, the high failure rate for new food products is challenging the success of new PBF in the market. This paper aims to unravel the key success factors (KSFs) from existing brands, contributing to...

Insect oil is a valuable fraction that is obtained from insect processing. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of yellow mealworm oil (YMW) oil (crude, deodorized, and blended with vegetable oil) on the sensory evaluation and aroma profile of fried dough. The sensory evaluation was performed in a sensory lab (central location test, CLT)...

Purpose There is a growing interest in measuring emotions evoked by food products to gain additional insights in how consumers perceive and choose food products. The aim of this study was to investigate if consumers' emotions are influenced by flavour, gender, consumption habits, actual tasting or consumer attitude towards a product. Chocolate was...

Interest in using smartphone-based technologies for farm management is growing. However, existing research does not adequately address the effect of farmer knowledge and awareness in their intention to use such technologies. The aim of the present study is to identify the main factors that influence farmer intention to use a Farm Management Smartph...

Because of the increasing challenges the global food system is facing on a social, economic and environmental level, and the need to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, agri-food systems are increasingly required to become more sustainable. Life cycle tools, such as a life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost...

An increasing focus on emotion in consumer and sensory research has led to the development of many instruments to capture consumers’ emotions elicited by food, with a growing interest in the use of emoji in recent years. While emoji are considered a suitable tool to assess food-evoked emotions, it is still unclear to what extent consumers’ emotiona...

There is a growing interest in food products containing insect ingredients in Western countries. However, the focus lies primarily on insect meal while insect oil is a valuable fraction obtained after insect fractionation. This oil contains healthy compounds and a positive sensorial experience. This study proposes a new application for yellow mealw...

In the present competitive environment, organisations must inevitably progress to gain and maintain a long-term competitive advantage. Hence, organisations must embrace organisational readiness for change (ORC), which denotes the level of preparedness of an organisation to adopt a change through deploying new management strategies and new projects....

The food service sector was among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine consumers’ attitudes towards and transparency perceptions of COVID-19-related safety measures and to identify determinants of consumers’ intentions and behaviour regarding visiting restaurants and bars once reopened. By also surveying food service...

Fermentation is a sustainable bio-preservation technique that can improve the organoleptic quality of fruit juices. Mango juices were fermented by monoculture strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum (MLP), Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus (MLR), Lacticaseibacillus casei (MLC), Levilactobacillus brevis (MLB), and Pediococcus pentosaceu...

As innovation has garnered substantial attention on corporate success and sustainability, organizations must evaluate internal contexts to determine potential innovative practices and benefits. Firms need to investigate the determining factors of innovation preparedness as organizational innovation practices are catalyzed through internal elements....

Benchmarking farms, in order to advise farmers to cure inefficiency, may be biased if heterogeneity is not accounted for. Technological variability in agriculture indeed happens, but productive efficiency analysis with frontier methods usually assumes homogeneity. Heterogeneity influences investment motives and production strategies, but is not alw...

To take advantage of existing opportunities in a market of global competition and rapid changes, firms try to adapt their strategy by introducing new or improved innovation types. While there is a large body of literature investigating the relationship between innovation and performance, there is a need to further analyze the role of innovation typ...

Cost–benefit analysis of (iodine) biofortification at farm level is limited in the literature. This study aimed to analyze the economic feasibility of applying iodine-rich fertilizers (agronomic biofortification) to cabbage and cowpea in Northern Uganda. Data on costs and revenues were obtained from a survey of 100 farmers, and benefits that would...

Despite the huge potential for milk production, interventions to improve productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are barely based on specified farm classifications. This study aimed to develop robust and context-specific farm typologies to guide content of extension farm advice/services in Uganda. From a sample of 482 dairy farmers, we collected d...

This paper aims to understand the relationship between patterns of lean practice implementation, farm size and sustainable performance among fruit horticultural primary producers in South Africa. Utilizing a comprehensive lean framework, addressing 10 lean practice dimensions, the authors collected data from a sample of 132 fruit farming operations...

Traditionally, sensory research focuses on the measurement of the overall acceptance of product of consumers. However, in the last decade, a shift occurred to the development of new methods to gain additional insights in how consumers perceive food products. On one hand, several rapid sensory profiling methods were developed (e.g., check-all-that-a...

Fermentation increases food shelf-life but is characterized by changes that affect product's perception. Watermelon juice was fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum (WJ-LP), L. rhamnosus (WJ-LR), L. casei (WJ-LC), L. brevis (WJ-LB) and Pediococcus pentosaceus (WJ-PP). Their sensory characteristics and volatile compounds were investigated by consume...

Introducing processed insects in food products is seen as a way to lower the barrier for insect consumption by Western consumers. Prior research indicated that crude insect lipids could partially replace butter in bakery products without influencing consumer’s perception, but a complete substitution remained a challenge due to the presence of off-f...

Consumers are paying more and more attention to ethical and social criteria during grocery shopping. As a result, Fair Trade products which are certified to address global supply chain issues (e.g., forced labor, working conditions, fair pay), are gaining popularity. However, it is unclear to which extent Fair Trade labels might influence how consu...

Traditionally, sensory research focuses on the measurement of the overall acceptance of product of consumers. However, in the last decade, a shift occurred to the development of new methods to gain additional insights in how consumers perceive food products. On one hand, several rapid sensory profiling methods were developed (e.g., check-all-that-a...

While nutrition-sensitive value-chain approaches are strongly advocated, studies on consumer preferences for such interventions are lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by examining a nutrition-sensitive chain labeling scheme, using the Ugandan dairy sector as a case. A survey was conducted among 250 consumers, primarily eliciting perceptions...

Purpose Literature indicates that those solid chocolate particles cannot be detected by human beings that are smaller than a critical value between 25 and 35 µm. Chocolate containing particles larger than this range is thought to be perceived as grainy. However, there does not seem to be any publication which justifies this threshold. Hence, the ma...

The important product attributes of carrot for consumers, according to order of importance are: price, origin, freshness, size, and color. Similarly, cabbage consumers gave the highest importance value to price followed by production method, origin, shape, and freshness. The market segments were: Cluster 1 - "Origin-sensitive" and Cluster 2- "Price...

There are numerous studies on food loss on the demand side examining consumer behavior towards food choice and food waste generation at the household level. In this paper, we target food loss on the supply side, with a focus on the industrial food processing environment. More specifically, we map food loss in each processing stage, that is sustaina...

Consumers’ physiological responses, such as heart rate, electrodermal responses and frontal alpha activity can enhance the understanding of the consumers’ food experience. This study looked at physiological responses of the autonomic nervous system (heart rate, electrodermal responses) as a measure for level of arousal, and to responses of the cent...

First-day processing and the pre-slaughter phase are stressful events for broiler chickens, putting pressure on their welfare, with economic consequences. This qualitative study aimed to document common industry practices and evaluate poultry industry stakeholder perceptions related to broiler welfare during day-of-hatch processing and the pre-slau...

This chapter provides an overview of two case studies that examine stakeholder reactions toward iodine biofortification in Uganda. The first case applies the protection motivation theory and evaluates the intention of school heads and parents of school‐aged children to include iodine‐biofortified legumes in school feeding programs. The second case...

This chapter provides an overview of two case studies that examine stakeholder reactions toward iodine biofortification in Uganda. The first case applies the protection motivation theory and evaluates the intention of school heads and parents of school‐aged children to include iodine‐biofortified legumes in school feeding programs. The second case...

Providing labelling information is one of the strategies used to help consumers make healthier choices. However, although the type of information has the potential to assist consumers, it is important to evaluate their sensory and emotional perceptions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different labelling informa...

Including insect ingredients into familiar food products could be a step in enabling a higher acceptance of insects in Western countries. This study investigates the potential of bakery products containing black soldier fly larvae fat (BSF LF) as an ingredient. Sensory and emotional profiling, WTP, liking and product preference were examined for ca...

Purpose While trends of health and well-being have boosted the development of sports nutrition products, consumer research is limited. The purpose of this paper is to profile sports nutrition users and non-users, and to explain users’ preference and equity of sports nutrition brands. Design/methodology/approach A large online survey ( n =3,165) wa...

Based on a survey with 64 small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in two Italian wine regions, this study aims to (a) identify key drivers and barriers of the adoption of sustainability and (b) compare the adoption and evaluation (use, financial/labor investments, and satisfaction) of sustainability practices in four management domains (marketing...

Iodine (I) is an essential micronutrient, which plays a critical role in human metabolism. However, its concentration is known to be low in most soils, making it deficient in crops. With most I agronomic biofortification studies conducted under controlled environments, limited information currently exists on this approach of enriching I deficient c...

The growing burden of food losses has intensified the need for reliable and comparable data. This study extends the application of lean manufacturing practices and uses Value Stream Mapping (VSM) analysis with the Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Accounting and Reporting Standard to identify hotspots and analyze the magnitude of both food and nutritional...

Unlike most studies that focused on specific innovations, this study systematically analyzed farmers’ adoption of agricultural innovations in general. It reports willingness to pay (WTP; willingness to accept (WTA)) as a proxy for adoption, its determinants, applied methods, and statistical models. After searching and screening, 80 studies qualifie...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of chain governance on chain performance among the chain members. Design/methodology/approach The survey was conducted in a triadic context with 345 chain members (115 dairy farmers, 115 dairy cooperative managers, and 115 processors) of the dairy sector in Uganda. Data collection was p...

Though consumer studies have received significant attention in the field of marketing management, research on consumer attitude towards food supply technologies is needed. This paper investigates the relationship between consumer attitude and preference towards the usage of a ‘milk ATM’ as the point of sale. Based on data obtained from 296 consumer...

Purpose Measuring chain performance which extends beyond supplier–buyer interface is of paramount importance in tracking and tracing the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of the entire chain. In response to chain inefficiencies, key performance indicators need to be assessed at different chain levels. Knowledge amongst chain members and evident rese...

There is a growing interest in the emotional associations of children to food products in order to better understand their preferences. Recently, emoji were suggested as a novel way to assess these emotional associations. In this study, 172 children aged 8-11 years evaluated the emotional profile of five biscuits in a check-all-that-apply task, whe...

Traditional descriptive methods for obtaining sensory profiles are difficult to apply with children because these measurements are complex, requiring lengthy concentration and adequate training. Therefore, research has examined the possibility of working with the check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) method, which is quite easy to use, especially given the l...

Organic food products are often perceived as healthier by consumers, but the question remains if organic labels might influence consumer's perception of specific sensory attributes and emotional associations and to which extent this effect goes beyond the lab context. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the potential effects of or...

Cocoa is one of the most important cultivated crops worldwide both in production and processing. But due to the change in weather conditions, pest and diseases, producers are looking into new bean varieties and alternatives (e.g. carob) which can influence the sensory properties of chocolate. But also the other ingredients, the production process a...

Since the introduction of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in clinical laboratories, folate analysis has shifted from microbiological or protein-binding assays to chromatographic methods. Now, it is possible to sensitively and selectively determine several folate species in clinical samples where only a total folate content could be q...

To address the growing global demand for cocoa, sustainable intensification of its production in West Africa is considered crucial. This paper analyzes the determinants of cocoa productivity and profitability by smallholder farmers in Ghana to provide insights into challenges for future cocoa farming, which will guide the formulation and prioritiza...

Consumers’ emotional evaluation of food products has gathered interest among sensory scientists and food companies as a means to gain additional insights beyond hedonic measurements. While recent work shows that emotional profiling can also be performed with children and teenagers, concerns have been raised about the validity of emotional profiling...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of sensory attributes of milk chocolate on consumers’ emotions and their hedonic ratings using three commercial brands of milk chocolate. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative descriptive analysis by a trained panel (n=8) was performed to obtain the sensory evaluation of the samples....

This study investigates the determining factors that drive sustainable performance through the application of lean methods in the primary production segment of the horticultural supply chain for apples and pears. The determining factors, identified through a systematic review of the available literature, are thematically synthesized, conceptually f...

Purpose Effective rural agribusiness development requires dedicated training programmes therefore, this paper is an attempt to investigate smallholder farmers’ TNs in the dairy agribusiness sector. The purpose of this paper is to study a bigger research project of the dairy value chain in agribusiness framework in the Rwenzori region. Design/metho...

In Flanders, Belgium, rigid and soft plastics represent an interesting fraction of residual household waste as a potential 80 000 Gg a?1 can be recycled instead of incinerated. Removing a large amount of rigid packaging and non-packaging plastics from the residual household waste fraction could contribute to the goal to reduce the amount of residua...

Although the existing literature has shown that the choice of governance structure plays a key role in inter-organizational performance, the nature of construct measurability still remains equivocal. The diversity of terminologies used means that the full potential of most studies may be lost in the confusion of indistinctive and misapplied terms....

Agronomic biofortification (i.e., the application of fertilizer to elevate micronutrient concentrations in staple crops) is a recent strategy recommended for controlling Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDDs). However, its success inevitably depends on stakeholders' appreciation and acceptance of it. By taking Northern Uganda as a case, this study aime...

This article identified network characteristics critical for successful agricutural innovations within networks, or a set of interrelated organizations aiming at knowledge exchange for innovations. To explore key success factors, the research questioned how networks cope with innovation characteristics and combined network characteristics with four...

The growing search for potential approaches needed for nutrition sensitive agriculture has increased the attention given to reduction of food and nutrient losses or wastes. This study targeted the dairy sector in Uganda to empirically explore stakeholder readiness for a change toward a nutrition sensitive value chain. A survey was conducted among 2...

As of today, the views of European consumers and policy makers on GM foods are still divided. While only few GM labelled foods ('does contain') have entered the market, GM-free labelling ('does not contain') is increasingly introduced in many EU member states. This study aims to examine whether GM-free labelling affects consumers' sensory profiling...

Consumers’ interest in more nutritionally balanced products is growing given the global increase of cardiovascular diseases associated with unbalanced diets. This has resulted in an increasing number of health-related claims on food products (e.g., “low in salt” or “light”). A multidisciplinary team from Ghent University has examined the influence...

In recent years user acceptance of a new technology has become of much interest. One of the most outstanding global problems facing Africa is the digital divide. However, the use and adoption of mobile phones is reducing the digital divide in Africa. In view of the role that mobile phones play in bridging the digital divide in Africa, this study ex...

A conjoint design was applied to examine the effects of three conjoint factors (based on the results of two focus groups): one intrinsic attribute (sweetener, with levels of sugar and Stevia) and two extrinsic attributes (brand and package size) on preference and purchase probability for chocolate and sugar substitute chocolate. Tasting and ingredi...

Background The increased interest in consumer and sensory research to focus on total consumer experience when examining the relationship between food and consumer, has led to the development of a number of instruments to capture emotional responses elicited by food, beyond sensory liking. Scope and approach This systematic review identified 70 stu...

Reducing sugar consumption is an important aspect in the prevention of and fight against obesity. A broader understanding of consumers’ perceptions of low-calorie sweeteners is needed. This study examined two low-calorie sweeteners, tagatose and stevia, in comparison to sugar in dark chocolate. A total of 219 consumers participated in this study an...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of anticipated emotions on behavioural intention and behaviour to consume filled chocolates and to give an indication on the possible differences in consumer behaviour between two countries. Design/methodology/approach The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used to explain the cons...

This article builds on earlier work that found that real-world decision makers did not learn from playing with a high-complexity simulation model designed as a learning laboratory for their decision-making domain. The absence of clear learning effects was sought in the absence of collaboration with others during participants' interaction with the s...

Bringing together the ideas of experts from around the world, this incisive text offers cutting-edge perspectives on the risk analysis and governance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), supporting effective and informed decision-making in developing countries. Comprised of four comprehensive sections, this book covers: integrated risk analysi...

Genetic modification (GM) has been advocated as an alternative or complement to micronutrient interventions such as supplementation, fortification or dietary diversification. While proof-of-concept of various GM biofortified crops looks promising, the decision tree of policy makers is much more complex, and requires insight on their socio-economic...

Genetic engineering has been successfully applied to increase micronutrient content in staple crops. Nutrition evidence is key to ensure scale-up and successful implementation. Unlike conventional plant breeding efforts, research on the efficacy or effectiveness of GM biofortified crops on nutritional status in human populations is lacking. This re...

Abstract Purpose: This paper examined the role of power on supply chain performance in the context of small and medium sized agribusiness enterprises (SMEs). Contrary to most of previous studies, which collect and analyze data from one side of a relationship dyad using a focal firm approach, a matched triad approach was employed in data collection...

The study of emotional and sensory profiling with food products is gaining momentum in the field of sensory research. These methods can be applied in order to obtain a broader consumer perspective on product performance beyond traditional hedonic measurements (Jiang, King, & Prinyawiwatkul, 2014; Varela & Ares, 2012). The EmoSensory® Wheel, a recen...

Sensory and emotional profiling by consumers is gathering interest among scientists and companies as it could help to better understand the motives for food choice. Although children and teenagers are important food consumer groups, they are underrepresented in sensory research and little is known on how children and teenagers perform on these task...