Naturally confused: consumers’ perceptions of all-natural and organic pork products

Abstract

Consumers are bombarded with labels and claims that are intended to address their concerns about how food products are produced, processed, and regulated. Among those are the natural or all-natural claims and the certified organic label. In this study, two focus groups were conducted to explore consumers' attitudes toward all-natural and organic pork and to gather their reactions to the USDA organic standards for meat, and the policy for natural claims. Results indicated that participants had positive associations with the terms ''organic'' and ''all-natural'' with exceptions regarding the trustworthiness of all-natural claims. Participants perceived the ''no'' labeling theme (no antibiotics, no hormones, no chemicals, etc.) often coupled with the all-natural label on pork products as identifying potential health and animal welfare risks. In response to the USDA standards and policies for labeling pork products as organic or all-natural, participants expressed confusion and had many unanswered questions.

Marketing Power Berries: An Importance-Performance Analysis of Blueberry

“…Researchers found consumers were skeptical and confused about all natural claims although they attach positive associations to the attribute (Abrams et al, 2010). Researchers should explore consumers' understanding of all natural claims on blueberries.…”

Evaluating Food Labels and Food Messages: An Experimental Study of the Impact of Message Format and Product Type on Evaluations of Magazine Food Advertisements

“…Most consumers choose (or do not choose) organic foods with little scientific understanding (Abrams, Meyers & Irani, 2010;Campbell, Mhlanga & Lesschaeve, 2013). The increase in organic spending coincides with experts questioning whether organic foods are safer or healthier and, in fact, offering evidence to the contrary (Smith-Spangler et al, 2012).…”

“…Studies have uncovered a number of reasons given by consumers for purchasing organic food products: health (human and animal), taste preference, environmental concerns, and economic concerns (Abrams, Meyers & Irani, 2010;Miles & Frewer, 2001;Smith-Spangler et al, 2012). Hammitt (1990) asked organic-food consumers about risk factors that affected their purchase decisions.…”

The market for animal welfare

“…Although the market for such products is growing (see Abrams et al 2010), meat labels are unlikely to solve the externality problem associated with animal welfare. One of the main reasons is that labels advertising higher levels of animal well-being only affect one type of consumerconsumer type II in Fig.…”