Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 11, 2025
07:07
Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
8.9K
Consumer responses to suboptimal food products
1School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Oklahoma State University, 365 Human Sciences, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
Appetite
|March 27, 2021
Summary
Consumers discard temporally suboptimal food most, despite lower moral concerns. Peripherally suboptimal food has lower perceived taste. Determinants consistently link to behavioral intentions for all suboptimal food types.
Area of Science:
- Food science
- Consumer behavior
- Psychology
Background:
- Suboptimal food, defined as visually imperfect but safe, includes cosmetic, temporal, and peripheral variations.
- Understanding consumer perceptions of suboptimal food is crucial for reducing food waste.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify determinants of consumer attitudes and intentions towards visual, temporal, and peripheral suboptimal food.
- To analyze the associations between these determinants and consumer behavioral intentions.
Main Methods:
- Experimental research design.
- Assessment of inferential and attitudinal determinants.
- Evaluation of behavioral intentions (e.g., discard, purchase).
Main Results:
- Temporally suboptimal food (near/past expiration) evoked highest discard intentions and perceived financial loss, but lowest moral concern.
- Peripherally suboptimal food (damaged packaging) led to lower taste perception compared to conventional food.
- Consistent patterns linked specific inferential/attitudinal determinants to distinct behavioral intentions across all suboptimal food types.
Conclusions:
- Consumer responses to suboptimal food vary significantly based on the type of imperfection.
- Perceptions of financial loss, moral concern, and taste significantly influence behavioral intentions.
- Targeted strategies addressing specific determinants can encourage acceptance of various suboptimal food categories.
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