73G-39 |
Perceptions of food “freshness” among civilian and military consumers |
A. V. CARDELLO, H. G. Schutz, and L. L. Lesher. Supporting Sciences and Technology Directorate, U.S Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, Natick, MA 01760-5020 The freshness of food is considered by manufacturers to be an important determinant of overall quality. Likewise, consumers consider freshness to be a primary factor in likely purchase behavior. However, the perception of food freshness is a complex function of many variables. Some of these include the nature of the food, its method of preservation (thermal, nonthermal, etc), the retail source (supermarket, warehouse store, etc), the elapsed time from harvest/production, and the foodservice setting in which it is consumed, e.g. civilian vs. military foodservice settings. Our objective was to develop a better understanding of the factors that contribute to consumer perceptions of food freshness in different foodservice settings and to determine the relative importance of freshness vs. other product variables (taste, price, etc.) to purchase behavior. A series of conjoint analytic studies were conducted with 250 civilian and military consumers. Respondents completed questionnaires in which they rated the freshness of 33 different food product concepts that varied in terms of their nature, type of processing/preservation, retail source, etc. Respondents also rated their purchase intent for 28 food product concepts that varied in taste, price, healthfulness, safety, freshness, convenience, retail source, and brand. Results showed the perception of freshness to be determined primarily by time from harvest/production and food type. Foods that were described as “minimally processed”, e.g. by high pressure or pulsed electric fields, or “frozen then thawed” were perceived as less fresh than refrigerated or frozen foods. Surprisingly, food from specialty markets was perceived to be less fresh than supermarket foods, especially among military consumers. The taste of the food was found to be the most important driver of purchase behavior, with freshness having equal importance to such factors as convenience, healthfulness, and retail source. The obtained results have important implications for the regulation, labeling, and successful marketing of minimally processed or “fresh-like” foods.
Session 73G, Sensory Evaluation
|