Price matters when it comes to purchasing eggs and poultry meat
When it comes to buying eggs and poultry meat, consumers note price as an important factor.
This is one of the key findings from recent research that examines the behaviour of European consumers. The study is part of the European project ‘Code: Re-farm’. Within this project, which commenced in 2022, the relationship between product quality and production systems for poultry is investigated.
Price, nutritional value and housing system
Italian, Dutch and Greek consumers exhibit similarities when buying poultry meat and eggs, the research found. When browsing the supermarket shelf, they consider price, nutritional value and the type of housing system used for these products as the most important factors in their purchase decision.
The Dutch delegation in the project is represented by the Poultry Expertise Centre. Business manager Anne-Jo Smits: “Within this European project we are working together with educational and research institutions from various countries. This is a valuable collaboration during which different methodologies and tools are exchanged.”
In Italy, the Netherlands and Greece, research was conducted into the opinions of consumers and taste experts. The study examined preferences for eggs and chicken meat from different housing systems. In each country, 100 consumers and 12 trained taste panelists took part. The poultry meat and eggs were evaluated on overall flavour as well as other sensory characteristics such as aroma and firmness.
Consumers in the Netherlands, Italy and Greece indicated that they consume poultry meat and eggs between once and 3 times per week. Anne-Jo Smits commented, “As a Dutch consumer, it does not surprise me that price is an important factor when purchasing poultry meat and eggs.”
Production method linked to quality
The majority of consumers (80%) believe that the production method is linked to product quality. In blind tests of the eggs from different housing systems, 40% of the tasters indicated a preference for eggs from an intensive housing system. When evaluating the consumption of poultry meat, the participants in the taste test did not express a clear preference for either intensive or extensive systems. However, it can be noted that younger participants exhibited a preference for intensive systems for both eggs and poultry meat.
Smits offered some caveats regarding the study’s findings. “The eggs and meat tested were sourced from a limited number of farms. With only a few farms per housing system, it is difficult to determine the extent to which genetics, feed and stocking density affect the findings. Moreover, an intensive system in the Netherlands is not directly comparable to an intensive system in Greece.”
