Occasions, people and places for pork consumption in Europe. Empirical findings from the Q-Porkchains pan-European consumer survey

Objective: to describe the occasions when, the places where and people with whom respondents reported pork meat consumption. Design & Setting: Cross-sectional web based survey in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Poland, January 2008, with quota samples on gender (male, female), age categories (20- 44y and 45-70y), and locality of residence (urban, rural with low pig production density and rural with high pig production density). Subjects: 2437 respondents (51% women, 49% men; mean age 41.4 y SD 13.1). Methods: Online computer based survey, including sociodemographic information, anthropometrics (weight, height), and further questions on frequency of pork consumption (30 common items, 17 country-specific items), the occasions (working day, any day, weekend, special occasions), the company (alone, with family, with friends, with others) and the place of actual consumption (at home, outside of home). Results are aggregated for the five European countries. Results: Tenderloin, mignonette, brochette together with pork shoulder ranked as the first choices for weekend and special occasions. The most out-of home consumed products are mixed gyros-pita meat, pork based brochette, pizza, small cuts, marinated meat, escalope, shoulder, tenderloin and mixed meat. The Greek country specific Sygglino, Tigania, and the Country-style sausage are amongst the main preferences for out of home consumption. At European level, most products are consumed at home and with the family. Meat products such as salami, ham, and similar products are amongst the first choices when eating alone. Semi-processed meat like brochettes, small cuts and marinated or ready to eat dishes as gyros-pitas and pizza are the main choice for eating in the company of friends. Conclusions: European respondents seem to make specific choices of food depending on to the occasions, the places and the company. This information highlights the potential orientation of consumers towards fresh meat for special occasions or weekends, and more processed and convenient products when alone or socializing. This information is also useful to address interventions aiming at the improvement of food related health in Europe.Occasions, Pork consumption, Europe, Q-Porkchains, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Key Success Factors in Health-related Food Marketing: A Case Study Approach

Every now and then, astonishing success stories can be observed on the food market. Many of the recent examples make reference to health characteristics and arguments. In order to analyse the possibly underlying success factors, an empirical case study approach was chosen. 27 successful European Union food marketing cases were purposively sampled from the database of renowned marketing effectiveness awards as well as following a series of food market expert interviews. Success factors were analyzed in a two-step approach, first for each case and then in a case-by-case comparison structured with a card sorting method. Six groups of success factors emerged from the analysis and named "data and knowledge", "emotions", "endorsement", "media", "community" and "why and how". Several success factors appeared to be of specific importance for the issue of health characteristics and arguments. It is concluded that considering the applicability of these case derived success factors might be a recommendable way of improving food marketing campaigns, especially when referencing to health in the communication.Health Economics and Policy, Marketing,

What are we eating? Consumer information requirement within a workplace canteen

The workplace is a captive environment where the overall contribution of the meal served could be an important element of the overall diet. Despite growing demand little information is available to aid healthy dish selection. This study identifies information valued by consumers in the UK, Greece, Denmark and France using best-worst scaling. Value for Money, Nutrition and Naturalness are key elements of information that consumers require to be able to make a conscious decision about dish selection in all four countries. Latent class analysis shows that consumers align to one of five cluster groups, i.e., Value Driven, Conventionalists, Socially Responsible, Health Conscious and Locavores. Understanding key information needs can allow food operators to align their service with consumer preferences across different market segments

Sensory determinants of stated liking for vegetable names and actual liking for canned vegetables: A cross-country study among European adolescents.

Sensory properties are reported as one of the main factors hindering an appropriate vegetable intake by the young. In the present work the sensory determinants of likings for vegetables were explored in adolescents of four European countries (Denmark, n = 88; France, n = 206; Italy, n = 110 and United Kingdom, n = 93). A questionnaire was designed to study cross country differences in stated liking for and familiarity with a list of vegetables popular among European markets (between-vegetable approach). A within-vegetable comparison approach with actual tasting was used to analyze differences and similarities in liking for canned pea and sweet corn samples across the countries. A close positive relationship between stated liking and familiarity was found. Irrespective of the country, one group of highly liked vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, green salad) was identified, characterized by innately liked tastes (sweet, umami), delicate flavour and bright appealing colour. A second group of highly disliked vegetables consists of cauliflowers and broccoli, characterized by disliked sensations such as bitter taste and objectionable flavour. Internal Preference Maps from actual liking scores indicate that the generally disliked tastes (bitter, sour), are clearly correlated with a negative hedonic response for both peas and sweet corn. The hedonic valence of a generally well accepted taste such as salty and texture descriptors depends on the type of vegetable. Internal preference maps from actual liking data indicate that flavour and appearance descriptors of the distinct sensory properties of each type of vegetable positively affect liking, while the intensity of unusual flavours is related to sample disliking

Nudging plant-based meals through the menu

A nudge experiment was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of presenting a menu with the dish-of-the-day (DoD) vs. a menu with free choice to facilitate consumer choice towards a fully plant-based, nutritious and tasty meal in foodservice setting. A menu card in control condition included the appetizer, the three mains and a dessert. The menu card in the intervention included the appetizer, eggplant lasagne as the DoD, and the dessert. Thirty-three volunteers ate twice at Future Consumer Lab in Copenhagen, once in each condition (67% women; mean age 25y; SD2.1). Three innovative 100% plant-based main courses were designed for the purpose of this study, Black bean & quinoa burger, Lentil curry and Eggplant lasagne. Compared with the control situation, DoD was successful in achieving 85% of the choice. Menu design and innovative meal design can contribute jointly to the uptake of plant-based meals in foodservice

How Do Consumers Perceive Cultured Meat in Croatia, Greece, and Spain?

The meat production industry is one of the leading contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. Cultured meat presents itself as a potential eco- and animal-friendly meat substitute which has the potential to eradicate animal cruelty and reduce both the environmental footprint and the risk of zoonotic illnesses, while delivering a nutrient-dense product. The purpose of this study was to investigate how consumers perceive cultured meat and if the frequency of meat consumption is related to their intention of trying or purchasing cultured meat. Data were collected online in 2020 from Croatia, Greece, and Spain. Among the 2007 respondents, three segments were identified according to meat consumption and variety, plus an a priori identified group of “non-meat eaters”. Sixty percent perceived cultured meat as kind to animals, 57% as unnatural, 45% as healthy and environmentally-friendly, 21% as disgusting, and only 16% as tasty. Although 47% of the respondents had not heard of cultured meat before, 47% would taste it and 41% would purchase it for the same price as conventional meat. This indicates that consumers from Croatia, Greece and Spain might be likely to purchase cultured meat if sold at an affordable price

Occasions, people and places for pork consumption in Europe. Empirical findings from the Q-Porkchains pan-European consumer survey

Objective : to describe the occasions when, the places where and people with whom respondents reported pork meat consumption. Design & Setting: Cross-sectional web based survey in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Poland, January 2008, with quota samples on gender (male, female), age categories (20- 44y and 45-70y), and locality of residence (urban, rural with low pig production density and rural with high pig production density). Subjects : 2437 respondents (51% women, 49% men; mean age 41.4 y SD 13.1). Methods : Online computer based survey, including sociodemographic information, anthropometrics (weight, height), and further questions on frequency of pork consumption (30 common items, 17 country-specific items), the occasions (working day, any day, weekend, special occasions), the company (alone, with family, with friends, with others) and the place of actual consumption (at home, outside of home). Results are aggregated for the five European countries. Results : Tenderloin, mignonette, brochette together with pork shoulder ranked as the first choices for weekend and special occasions. The most out-of home consumed products are mixed gyros-pita meat, pork based brochette, pizza, small cuts, marinated meat, escalope, shoulder, tenderloin and mixed meat. The Greek country specific Sygglino, Tigania, and the Country-style sausage are amongst the main preferences for out of home consumption. At European level, most products are consumed at home and with the family. Meat products such as salami, ham, and similar products are amongst the first choices when eating alone. Semi-processed meat like brochettes, small cuts and marinated or ready to eat dishes as gyros-pitas and pizza are the main choice for eating in the company of friends. Conclusions : European respondents seem to make specific choices of food depending on to the occasions, the places and the company. This information highlights the potential orientation of consumers towards fresh meat for special occasions or weekends, and more processed and convenient products when alone or socializing. This information is also useful to address interventions aiming at the improvement of food related health in Europe