Consumer perception of fresh meat quality in Germany

In this article, the results of a consumer survey for Germany are presented. Extrinsic cues play an important role for quality selection in the shop. Here “country of origin” and “place of purchase” play a dominant role. To judge the eating quality of fresh meat, those experience quality attribute cues, which are hard to measure with characteristics, like flavour or smell, seem to be the most important. For assessing the safety of meat, “country of origin” as an extrinsic credence quality attribute cue and “freshness” as an intrinsic credence quality attribute cue are of most importance. “Country of origin” is used by consumers not only to predict eating quality but also to indicate safety. This holds not only for beef, but also for pork and, to a lesser extent, chicken. The most trusted source of information on the safety of meat is the butcher.