Meat with edible coating: Acceptance, purchase intention and neophobia

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Consumer Behavior
• Sensory Analysis

Background:

• Consumer acceptance of novel food technologies is influenced by sensory attributes and psychological factors.
• Food technology neophobia can create barriers to adopting new food products.
• Chitosan coating is a novel technology for meat preservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate consumer acceptance and purchase intention of chitosan-coated beef and lamb meat under blind and informed conditions.
• To assess the psychometric properties of the Food Technology Neophobia Scale (FTNS) in this consumer group.

Main Methods:

• 297 consumers evaluated chitosan-coated and control beef and lamb samples for acceptance and purchase intention.
• The Food Technology Neophobia Scale (FTNS) and sociodemographic data were collected.
• Factorial invariance of the FTNS was tested, leading to an abbreviated version (AFTNS).

Main Results:

• Chitosan-coated beef was most accepted in the informed condition.
• For lamb, blind acceptance of both control and chitosan samples was higher than informed samples.
• Cluster analysis revealed three distinct consumer perception groups.
• The abbreviated FTNS (AFTNS) demonstrated good psychometric properties.
• 71.1% of consumers exhibited an absence of neophobia.

Conclusions:

• Consumer response to chitosan-coated meat differs between beef and lamb, and is influenced by prior information.
• The majority of consumers are open to novel food technologies like chitosan coating.
• The AFTNS is a valid tool for measuring food technology neophobia.
• Findings suggest potential for commercial viability of chitosan-coated meat products.