The article deals with possible ways of elimination of waste from food packaging. It focuses on eliminating packaging waste through unpackaged food stores and the zero waste concept. Elimination of any waste in the form of packaging is an important element of protection and reducing the burden on the environment, and in this context also important element of globalization. The methodological approach is based on a field survey in the form of interviews with customers of a selected packaging-free shop and research aimed at identifying awareness and the use of packaging-free stores among the general public. The survey also included a comparison of prices of selected foods in the packaging shop and three hypermarkets. The aim of the article is to propose other possible ways to reduce packaging waste when buying food. The survey found that customers from 21 to 30 years old are most likely to shop in unpacked stores. The main reason for buying in unpacked shops is for most customers the effort to reduce the man-made environmental burden and the higher quality of the products sold. The most frequently mentioned disadvantage of this way of buying food is the limited range of products.

AbstractŠálková D., Hes A. (2015): Gluten-free food -the influence of selected qualitative characteristics on consumer decision making of coeliacs in hospitality establishments. Czech J. Food Sci., 33: 513-517.The perceptions of individuals with coeliac disease about gluten-free products and their consumer behaviour when eating out in hospitality establishments in the Czech Republic were investigated. The dependence of the selected characters important in the consumer behaviour of coeliac patients in the decision-making process when choosing a dining establishment, in particular the focus on identifying the key criteria that influence the decision-making of coeliac patients when selecting a particular public catering establishment, were examined. 441 questionnaires were analysed. The result is a finding of the consistency and relevance of characters in the decision-making process of coeliacs when selecting dining establishments and their satisfaction with the range of gluten-free foods in open and closed dining establishments in the Czech Republic. Deglutenised foods (raw ingredients) are very expensive and a structured and economically balanced range of processed products should be found in the hospitality industry with the acceptance of the purchasing power of their consumers.

Frequent price discounts have become one of the features of retail chains in the Czech Republic. Discounts are most often provided for products popular with customers. One of the products that is subject to frequent discounts is milk. Several expert opinions estimate that up to 50% of milk is sold with frequent price discounts. Price pressure on farmers and food producers owing to frequent price promotions is supported by the purchasing power of retailers and, in extreme cases, leads to sub-cost purchasing prices. These facts set up the framework to assess the impact of frequent price discounts on policymaking, including tax administration. One of the effects of selling goods at discounts is lower VAT collection from shops, and thus lower revenue to the state budget. This paper attempts to estimate one of the potential impacts of frequent price discounts, namely the loss of VAT for the state budget due to low retail prices of milk. Theoretical estimation of the effect of frequent price discounts on VAT can help to assess policy that touches on mark-ups in specific markets, such as food. The estimation is based on data obtained from Czech Statistical Office, FADN, and Orbis databases and employs Monte Carlo simulation to capture the stochastic element of retail markups. Sub-cost prices of producers of milk have a more significant negative effect on VAT revenue than prices of other supply chain participants. The theoretical effect on VAT revenue is estimated to be in the range from a negative effect of 14.9 billion CZK to a positive effect of 7.4 billion CZK. Values of zero VAT effect points (mark-ups of producers, dairies, and retailers) are shown, as well as the critical value of price elasticity of demand (−0.1715), at which the effect of frequent price discounts on VAT revenue is zero.

Research background: The classic explanation about the structure of economies stipulates that, as societies advance, their economy gradually shifts towards the tertiary sector where the added value is the highest. While this logic proved to be empirically true during the last centuries, it nonetheless comes with significant issues in the long run. The need for manufactured products, which is constantly growing due to global economic development and a growing population, must still be addressed by an industrial base around. This leaves only two options open: 1. Some countries have to lag behind the rest of the world in terms of global economic development or 2. Developed countries will have to devote part of their labor and capital investment to (re) building capable industrial capacity. Purpose of the article: The aim of the article is to point out the influence of globalization on the position of production structures in the context of the global crisis. Methods: Comparative method, definition of the object of comparison and determination of the goal of comparison and determination of criteria for own analysis of relevant sources, induction, deduction, generalization. Findings & Value added: The only way to maintain enough industrial capacity to answer the demand in a globalized world without having some countries lagging behind will be to redistribute the production capabilities among the countries. This would make the economic playfield more even and would also have several side benefits regarding global environmental and political issues including unexpected crises such as pandemic period coronavirus.

The aim of the paper is to assess the effect of introducing the second reduced rate of VAT of 10 % since 1 January 2015 on consumer behaviour when purchasing gluten-free food. Monitoring the effect of the VAT rate reduction on selected gluten-free food and products was a part of a research focused on gluten-free consumer preferences when eating in restaurants (960 respondents were interviewed). Further research which was focused on the effect of the VAT rate reduction and which surveyed the consumer criteria when purchasing gluten-free products addressed a total of 160 respondents with a gluten-free diet. According to the respondents' experience, the introduction of the second reduced VAT rate of 10 % has not significantly affected the prices for the final consumers. The reason for that may be the fact that the second reduced VAT rate applies mostly to ingredients used in gluten-free production and only a few final products. A large group of coeliacs is not even aware of or has not registered the VAT change.