ABSTRACT.
In order to evaluate how beef buyers in the State of Paraná, Brazil south value meat quality indicators, and attributes of credibility, 519 interviews were conducted in three cities with different sizes (Big - Curitiba, Medium - Campo Mourão and Small - Palotina). The interviews were applied after the meat was placed in the shopping cart and were composed of five questions, including question of spontaneous response: (i) factors that the buyer considers at the purchasing time; (ii) information which the buyer considers important to appear on the meat label; and three questions of stimulated response: (i) preference for meat preparation and exposure for sale, (ii) factors that the buyer considers when purchasing the meat, and (iii) preference for marbling (by photograph) according to the beef preparation. The results showed that beef buyers are more concerned with extrinsic meat quality indicators than the intrinsic ones, especially the meat presentation and hygiene of the sale point; have little knowledge about the factors that positively influence the eating experience of beef and do not cares about attributes of credibility, except for the meat expiration date. Beef buyers from medium (Campo Mourão) and small (Palotina) cities have a similar behavior, and differ from the buyers of a big (Curitiba) city among the attributes surveyed, in relation to the greater appreciation of inspection, tenderness and marbling, and less importance given to the expiration date. Beef buyers prefer meat cut by the butcher; however, this preference is higher in the small city.
Keywords:
animal production; beef cattle; Brazil; meat quality; price