Consumer behaviour towards chicken breasts affected with myopathy (Wooden Breast): face-to-face vs. online tests

The incidence of the Wooden Breast myopathy (WB) in the meat industry is increasingly high and causes economic losses. This work seeks to study the impact of this myopathy on consumer perception. The aim of this study was to evaluate consumers' degree of knowledge, acceptability and purchase intention of chicken breasts affected by the WB. In face-to-face scenario, 197 participants evaluated samples of Normal (N), Moderate (WBM) and Severe WB (WBS) breasts fillet, whereas in the online scenario 200 participants analysed the photographic images of the samples. Participants' perceptions did not show differences among informed conditions, conversely to the scenario. N samples show higher scores in both tests in the face-to-face scenario, but this was not the case for the samples evaluated in the online scenario, where WBM samples were better accepted and did not present differences compared with N breast samples regarding purchase intention. This work shed light on the importance of the scenario for consumer perception and the necessity of reformulated objectives and experimental designs in the current pandemic context.

Automated summary

The aim of this study was to evaluate consumers' knowledge, acceptability, and purchase intention of chicken breasts affected by the Wooden Breast myopathy (WB). The results showed that N samples had higher scores in the face-to-face scenario, but WBM samples were better accepted and did not differ from N samples in terms of purchase intention in the online scenario.