Consumers impact on food quality under frozen conditions in Germany
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 2 October 2019
Issue publication date: 6 January 2020
Abstract
Purpose
More than 50 per cent of all German households own a freezing appliance and so far the market of frozen foods is constantly increasing (1 per cent from 2017 to 2018). Despite frozen foods playing an important role in our everyday life, little is known about the consumer’s habits at home. The purpose of this paper is to uncover gaps in the knowledge about consumer behaviour when handling frozen food. Moreover, the impact of consumers on the quality of frozen products should be assessed.
Design/methodology/approach
A representative online survey was carried out to investigate different aspects of consumer behaviour concerning frozen foods. Respondents (n=2,053) were questioned about their general handling habits regarding eight different food groups: fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, bread, pastries, ready-to-eat meals and leftovers. The focus was on freezing, pre-handling, packaging and thawing – depending on the age of those questioned and combined with best practice advice regarding quality storage of frozen products.
Findings
Most Germans have the opportunity to freeze food and keep their freezers full or medium loaded. Older participants act more efficiently towards quality storage, but more education about freezing and frozen storage would be generally helpful to maintain quality of frozen foods and increase utilisation of freezers, using their full preservation potential.
Research limitations/implications
No open questions were asked due to the scope of more than 2,000 participants, which, in retrospect, would have been instructive.
Originality/value
Consumer handling of frozen food in Germany was investigated in a representative way for the first time, covering age groups from 18 to 69 and household sizes from 1 to >4 people, focussing on eight major food groups.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This survey was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy under Grant No. 03TNG001A.
Citation
Kölzer, B.S., Geppert, J., Klingshirn, A., Weber, H., Brugger, L., Engstler, A., Härlen, J., Ertel, T., Gindele, T. and Stamminger, R. (2020), "Consumers impact on food quality under frozen conditions in Germany", British Food Journal, Vol. 122 No. 1, pp. 36-47. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-09-2018-0620
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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