The Concept of Food Freshness: Uncovering Its Meaning and Importance to Consumers

A series of conjoint analytic studies were conducted with civilian and military consumers in order to assess the factors that contribute to the concept of food freshness and the relative importance of freshness to other product variables. Respondents rated the freshness of 33 different food product concepts that varied in terms of food type, method of processing / preservation, retail source, etc. Respondents also rated their purchase interest for 28 food product concepts that varied in taste, price, healthfulness, safety, freshness, convenience, retail source, and brand type. Results showed the concept of freshness to be determined primarily by time from harvest/production and food type. Foods that were described as "minimally processed", e.g. by high pressure or pulsed electric fields, or "frozen and thawed" were rated as less fresh than refrigerated or frozen foods. The taste of the food was found to be the most important driver of purchase interest, with freshness having equal importance to such factors as convenience, healthfulness, and retail source.