Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 4/5/16


A new study by a University of Arkansas student and her professor concluded that consumers’ knowledge of food labels affects consumers’ perception of chicken product quality.

The research by doctoral student Shilpa Samant and professor Han-Seok Seo — “Effects of Label Understanding on Sensory Acceptability of Chicken Products” — was published in the journal Food Quality and Preference.

Their research demonstrates that the impact of labels about sustainable and environmentally friendly factors on the perceived quality and acceptance of chicken breast meat depends on the consumer’s level of understanding and the types of claims made on the labels.

The study split a group of 66 participants in half, creating an equal number of participants that had prior knowledge of sustainability-related labels and those that had no prior education or knowledge about the labels. Both groups were matched in terms of demographic profiles and how often they purchased chicken-meat products.

Participants in both groups evaluated and sampled four chicken-meat products. The samples were the same, but labeled with four different claims – “USDA Organic,” “No Hormones Added,” “USDA Process Verified” and no-label condition.

The high label-understanding group found various differences among the labeled products while the control group did not determine any significant differences among the different chicken items, Samant’s study showed.

The research reveals non-sensory factors, such as label claims and the understanding level of the claims, play a role in why consumers prefer a certain product over another.

“The chicken-meat samples were the same; the only treatment was on the label claims,” said Seo. “If participants fully understand the claims, those claims affect their perception toward the samples. If they do not understand, there might be no significant effect of the label claims. To strengthen the impact of label claims, it would be suggested to educate consumers on their meaning.”

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.