Abstract
The consumer acceptance of novel enhanced-quality products and their willingness to buy such products may be a crucial topic in the field of marketing. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between consumers’ perceptions of food quality and their acceptance of enhanced meat products and novel packaging. The study was conducted using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) method in a random group of 1009 respondents, who were recruited as a representative sample based on data from the Polish National Identification Number database. The participants were asked about the most important quality determinants of food products of animal origin and about quality improvement methods and their acceptance of those methods. The quality determinants of animal-based food products were indicated as follows: origin, production technology, manufacturer, components and nutritional value, visual and sensory characteristics, expiry date, and cost. The quality improvement methods were clustered into groups that were associated with product enhancement and application of novel packaging, and the acceptance of those methods was also verified. Indicating specific quality determinants of animal-derived food products affects the consumer acceptance of product enhancement (p = 0.0264) and novel packaging as quality improvement methods (p = 0.0314). The understanding that enhancement is applied for the purpose of quality improvement did not influence the acceptance of products (p = 0.1582), whereas the knowledge that novel packaging is applied influenced the acceptance (p = 0.0044). The obtained results suggested that in the case of application of novel packaging, a higher level of knowledge may be a reason for consumer’s rejection of the resulting products, but the appearance and taste of products may contribute to the higher acceptance of novel packaging. Educating consumers may improve their acceptance of product enhancement, as concerns about the addition of food preservatives may lead them to reject enhanced products.
Highlights
Meat, as well as meat products, is an important component of a typical western diet and is consumed almost every day by some people
It was stated that declaring diverse quality determinants influenced acceptance of the enhancement of animal-derived food products as the quality improvement method (p = 0.0264)
The highest number of respondents accepted food products’ enhancement in the sub-group of respondents not able to define quality determinants (42.9%), while a lower number of respondents accepted it in the sub-groups of respondents declaring as quality determinants: origin (33.6%), production technology (26.6%), manufacturer (35.4%), components and nutritional value (32.8%), visual and sensory characteristics (26.1%), expiry date (29.7%), and cost (35.0%)
Summary
As well as meat products, is an important component of a typical western diet and is consumed almost every day by some people. They provide essential amino acids, Foods 2020, 9, 1526; doi:10.3390/foods9111526 www.mdpi.com/journal/foods. Foods 2020, 9, 1526 vitamins (mainly B12 ), and minerals (mainly iron and zinc) needed for the body, meat products, especially red and processed ones, may increase the risk of chronic diseases typical in developed countries (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and some cancers), as well as general mortality, when consumed in excessive amounts [1]. Taking into account that Western diets often include food products of animal origin [8], reducing the intake of red and processed meat can be beneficial to both health and the environment [9]
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