Search

Consumers are increasingly relying on quality assurance indicators when purchasing agriproducts like fish, where they lack the confidence and ability to judge quality. Any industry quality scheme should start with an understanding of the product attributes consumers value. This paper explores Australian consumers' perceptions of quality in relation to fish in general and barramundi specifically, using data from a national online survey of 2,061 consumers. Analysis of two open-ended questions and a perceptual mapping exercise indicate consumers value both intrinsic attributes such as freshness, color and smell, and extrinsic attributes such as origin and price. These results present the Australian barramundi industry with a starting point to develop a consumer-based quality framework and ensure consistent quality as valued by consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian consumers hold very favorable attitudes toward seafood, with key drivers to consumption being taste, convenience, diet variety, and health benefits. Nevertheless, despite these positive attitudes, seafood consumption remains below many other countries. In this article, we investigate the influence of habit including regular childhood consumption, familiarity with seafood, and attitudes toward seafood on seafood consumption and consumption occasions. Habit and lack of familiarity with seafood were found to lead to lower levels of seafood consumption, whereas positive attitudes toward seafood were associated with more regular seafood consumption. People who consumed seafood on a regular basis as a child were more likely to be more familiar with seafood and be in the habit of consuming seafood in adulthood. Patterns of childhood consumption occasions were found to be associated with adult consumption occasions. Based on these findings, we discuss possible strategies and behavioral interventions for further investigation, which are grounded in habit theory and are aimed at changing seafood eating habits, increasing childhood consumption, and reducing the lack of familiarity with seafood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]