Eating habits of Serbian consumers regarding content of fat and salt in meat products

Abstract

In recent years, there is an increasing interest in developing meat products with healthier attributes. Consumers’ behavior and expectations about sensory evaluation of traditional meat products is becoming less predictable. This paper reviews consumers’ perception and acceptance of selected meat products from Serbia regarding content of fat and salt. Chicken and beef salami were sensory evaluated by consumers (n=3291) between 2014-2018. Sensory evaluation of the products was conducted according to a modified version of a DLG-5-points-scheme. The questionnaire started with general questions on demographic information about the respondents. Consumers rated the taste as good, satisfactory or unsatisfactory; the salt content as balanced, not salty enough or too salty; and the fat content as sufficient or too fatty. This investigation shows that Serbian consumers have become more interested in meat products with lower salt and fat contents. Consumers’ trust and eating habits have changed over the years, and consequently, their acceptance of the products has also changed. Since consumer perceptions have a direct influence on meat industry profitability, the meat industry needs to know which attributes of meat products are considered important by consumers.

Exploring Purchasing Determinants for a Low Fat Content Salami: Are Consumers Willing to Pay for an Additional Premium?

“…The outcome of lessening the fat content in a meat product is usually undesirable because this affects both texture and taste (Campagnol et al, 2011;Henning et al, 2016), as well as causing a reduction in the amount produced (Han and Bertram, 2017). Djinovic-Stojanovic et al (2019) established that healthier dry sausages (with lower salt and fat content) may be produced with no negative effects on the physicochemical and biochemical properties of the end product. Many attempts to manufacture emulsified meat products with a lower fat content have been made.…”

“…However, they noted that the partial replacement of meat with plant-based ingredients and the resulting reduction in fat and salt was accepted. Consumer perception and the favorable reception of chicken and beef salami with regard to the fat and salt content was also investigated by Djinovic-Stojanovic et al (2019). Their results highlighted how Serbian consumers find healthy meat products more appealing.…”