CONSUMER PERCEPTION ON SEAFOOD: QUALITY EXPECTATIONS RELATED TO CHILLED/THAWED PRODUCTS

Technological advances in food cultivation, harvesting and logistics are giving consumers greater choice with their purchases. Advances in processing, freezing and thawing are key technologies that allow seafood to be provided over longer timeframes and distances. However, there is a negative connotation associated with frozen seafood products compared to fresh products, leading to the price of frozen products remaining low. These days many seafood products sold at supermarkets, presented as fresh products, have been frozen in advanced and then thawed before being placed on the shelves. Up until recently the information that these products have been frozen in advance have not been prominently displayed. Consumers are becoming more aware of this, due to regulations requiring labelling thawed products as having been previously frozen, and due to media coverage. This study aims to explore the consumer attitudes towards seafood products, explicitly salmon and cod, and compare it to other common meat types. This is done through a survey deployed in four European markets (United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Norway) exploring the perception across five categories: taste, healthiness, convenience, value for money and availability. Further, the survey examines the attitudes towards fresh and frozen products, and explore how basic information treatment may influence the perception of frozen and thawed products across the various quality categories.