ПРІОРИТЕТНІ ОЗНАКИ ЯКОСТІ, БЕЗПЕЧНОСТІ ТА ЕКОЛОГІЧНОСТІ ХАРЧОВИХ ПРОДУКТІВ У СПОЖИВЧОМУ ВИБОРІ: ТРАНСКОРДОННЕ ПОРІВНЯННЯ

Abstract. The article identifies priority cues of quality, safety, and environmental sustainability of food products in consumer choice and substantiates the feasibility of assessing quality through a set of product cues. It is shown that the traditional focus on general commodity indicators is insufficient to explain differences in consumer priorities and does not provide adequate evidence for management decisions in the quality control system. A cross-border comparison of consumer perception profiles has been conducted, which allowed identifying the dominance of sensory cues in the choice structure and, at the same time, increased attention to composition and safety cues, which serve as a tool for risk minimization. The increasing importance of environmental attributes in consumer decisions has been substantiated, and it is shown that priorities are most often concentrated around packaging parameters, product origin, and production conditions. Special emphasis is placed on the role of trust in information sources as a critical factor for characteristics that cannot be verified directly during purchase, and the feasibility of enhancing traceability and verification of declared food product properties is proven. The practical significance of the study lies in the formation of recommendations for enterprises in the agricultural sector and trade, as well as state control bodies, regarding the improvement of quality cues communication, increasing control transparency, and strengthening trust in Ukrainian products on the EU market. Prospects for further research are related to deepening comparative analysis, consumer segmentation, and testing the possibilities of using generalized indicators of quality perception in management diagnostics tools and non-financial reporting.