Consumer perceptions of fresh meat quality: cross‐national comparison

Abstract

This paper summarises the results of the consumer survey, which had been carried out in six European countries in order to obtain comparable information about consumer behaviour towards meat and perception of fresh meat quality. Quality evaluation of fresh meat in this study is supposed to consist of two phases: a stage previous to the actual purchase and a stage after the purchase while eating the meat. Concerning the first stage, it becomes obvious that for beef and pork the place of purchase plays a major role as quality indicator, while the price was distinctly considered to be least helpful. “Colour” is the most important intrinsic quality cue for all three meats. In the second phase of quality evaluation after purchase, “flavour” is one of the most significant quality characteristics. Concerning the safety of beef, pork and chicken, “freshness” was shown to be the most important indicator. Consequently, it would be advisable for producers and retailers to use appropriate signals in order to communicate “freshness” to the consumers. Concerns about meat are rated very highly in each of the countries. Trustworthy signals of meat safety are required, which are able to reduce the risk felt by consumers.

Understanding the Relationship Between Perceived Quality Cues and Quality Attributes in the Purchase of Meat in Malaysia

“…Egan et al (2001) mentioned that the eating quality of beef may improve through marbling because of increased juiciness and flavor. Glitsch (2000) also demonstrated that leanness was more often associated with the purchase of chicken meat. Similarly, Kennedy et al (2004) found that leanness (less fat content) was one of the main reasons why consumers chose chicken over red meats.…”

“…Freshness was a major criteria in assessing the perceived safety of beef, pork and chicken among European consumers (Glitsch 2000). Anklam and Battaglia (2001) found that consumers' expected high quality food to be fresh, good looking, nutritious, wholesome, tasty and most importantly to be safe.…”

“…In relating the fat content of the meat with good taste, Glitsch (2000) found that the texture of the meat (tenderness) for beef was more important to consumers in European countries, rather than leanness. Egan et al (2001) mentioned that the eating quality of beef may improve through marbling because of increased juiciness and flavor.…”

Consumer perceptions of food quality in Malaysia

“…This does not mean that consumers care less about the price when thinking about meat, for as indicated by Becker (1999), consumers do not always assume that a higher price will lead to superior quality. Glitsch (2000) revealed that price was regarded as being the least helpful for assessing the quality of meat.…”

Consumer behavior in choice of minimally processed vegetables and implications for marketing strategies

“…Examples include data from works of agro-food products such as wine (Verdú, Llorens, & Fuentes, 2004), fruit and vegetables (Sule, Paquin, & Levy, 2002Sule, Muñoz, & Levy, 2005) and meat (Becker, 2000;Hoffmann, 2000;Glitsch, 2000). It should be pointed out that in this respect, however, the key factor being the time and place where the consumer receives all information on the food product, information from more or less distorted perception of extrinsic and intrinsic attributes product, which significantly affect the buying process.…”