Morrison School of Agribusiness and Resource Management, Arizona State University, 7231 East Sonoran Arroyo Mall, Mesa, Arizona 85212, USA.
J Food Prot. 2013 Jan;76(1):99-107. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-12-045.
Consumers' perceptions and evaluations of meat quality attributes such as color and shelf life influence purchasing decisions, and these product attributes can be affected by the type of fresh meat packaging system. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) extends the shelf life of fresh meat and, with the inclusion of carbon monoxide (CO-MAP), achieves significant color stabilization. The objective of this study was to assess whether consumers would accept specific packaging technologies and what value consumers place on ground beef packaged under various atmospheres when their choices involved the attributes of color and shelf life. The study used nonhypothetical consumer choice experiments to determine the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for extended shelf life resulting from MAP and for the "cherry red" color in meat resulting from CO-MAP. The experimental design allowed determination of whether consumers would discount foods with MAP or CO-MAP when (i) they are given more detailed information about the technologies and (ii) they have different levels of individual knowledge and media exposure. The empirical analysis was conducted using multinomial logit models. Results indicate that consumers prefer an extension of shelf life as long as the applied technology is known and understood. Consumers had clear preferences for brighter (aerobic and CO) red color and were willing to pay $0.16/lb ($0.35/kg) for each level of change to the preferred color. More information on MAP for extending the shelf life and on CO-MAP for stabilizing color decreased consumers' willingness to pay. An increase in personal knowledge and media exposure influenced acceptance of CO-MAP negatively. The results provide quantitative measures of how packaging affects consumers' acceptance and willingness to pay for products. Such information can benefit food producers and retailers who make decisions about investing in new packaging methods.
消费者对肉类品质属性（如颜色和保质期）的感知和评价会影响购买决策，而这些产品属性会受到新鲜肉类包装系统类型的影响。改良气氛包装（MAP）可延长新鲜肉类的保质期，而添加一氧化碳（CO-MAP）则可实现显著的颜色稳定。本研究的目的是评估消费者是否会接受特定的包装技术，以及在涉及颜色和保质期等属性的情况下，消费者对不同气氛下包装的碎牛肉的价值评估。本研究使用非假设性消费者选择实验来确定消费者愿意为 MAP 延长保质期以及 CO-MAP 使肉呈现“樱桃红”颜色而支付的溢价。实验设计允许确定消费者在以下两种情况下是否会对具有 MAP 或 CO-MAP 的食品进行折扣：(i) 他们获得有关技术的更详细信息，以及 (ii) 他们具有不同程度的个人知识和媒体曝光度。实证分析使用多项逻辑回归模型进行。结果表明，只要应用的技术是已知且被理解的，消费者就更喜欢延长保质期。消费者对更亮（有氧和 CO）红色有明确的偏好，并愿意为每一级偏好颜色的变化支付 0.16 美元/磅（0.35 千克/磅）。关于延长保质期的 MAP 和稳定颜色的 CO-MAP 的更多信息降低了消费者的支付意愿。个人知识和媒体曝光度的增加会对 CO-MAP 的接受度产生负面影响。这些结果提供了有关包装如何影响消费者对产品的接受度和支付意愿的定量衡量标准。这些信息可以使食品生产商和零售商在投资新的包装方法时受益。
