Determination of consumer color and discoloration thresholds for purchase of retail ground beef

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the threshold for color and discoloration for consumers to purchase ground beef in a simulated retail display and to determine the best objective measurement to predict consumer purchase intent. This study was designed in two phases, with Phase 1 requiring consumers to evaluate ground beef samples of multiple days of display simultaneously, and Phase 2 having consumers evaluate samples of only a single day of display. Our models showed that each of the objective measures evaluated were predictors (P < 0.05) of consumer purchasing intent. All logistic regression equations (P < 0.01) had high R² values of 0.48 – 0.86 (Phase 1) and 0.26 – 0.65 (Phase 1), and correctly classified 78.1 – 90.1% (Phase 1) and 70.5 – 84.0% (Phase 2) of samples as would / would not purchase. Linear regression equations predicting consumer overall appearance ratings with objective measures also resulted in significant (P < 0.01) models, with R² values of 0.57 – 0.93 and 0.35 – 0.54. The a* values of 21.6, 24.6, 28.3, and 30.5 (Phase 1) and 20.7, 26.2, 31.7, and 35.4 (Phase 2) correspond with consumers being 50, 75, 90, and 95% likely to purchase the product at full price. However, if the product was discounted, the values were 17.9, 21.4, 25.0, and 27.4 (Phase 1) and 17.7, 22.7, 27.7, and 31.1 (Phase 2). The percentage of metmyoglobin values of 40.1, 33.6, 27.1, and 22.7 (Phase 1) and 37.8, 28.7, 19.5, and 13.3 (Phase 2) correspond with consumers being 50, 75, 90, and 95% likely to purchase the product at full price and 47.8, 40.5, 33.2, and 28.2 (Phase 1) and 45.2, 36.0, 26.9, and 20.6 (Phase 2) if the product was discounted. The models generated from this study provide the ability to predict consumer willingness to purchase ground beef, and provide ground beef producers an indication of potential consumer purchasing behaviors based upon objective values that are easy to measure.