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Abstract
Shelf-life estimation has become increasingly important due to the growing consumer
interest in fresh and safe food products and the European policy indications to consider it as a
key issue for the sustainable management of food waste within the supply chains. To date, no
legislation on the shelf life date of the most of food products exists (Boxstael et al., 2014).
Several studies demonstrate that the technology available in the fresh-cut sector would allow
to extend the shelf life date of products without compromising their intrinsic quality attributes
and to achieve a more sustainable production by a strong reduction of unsold stock. The aim
of the study was to segment consumers on the basis of their attitude towards the extension of
the shelf life date in the fresh-cut salad sector. On the basis of the clusters found, the paper
discusses if the information concerning such technology is a useful tool to inform consumers
on product characteristics or if it entails a risk of information overload.