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Abstract
Recently increasing consumers’ demand towards quality and safety of food
products as well as the desire for cultural identification have generated the demand
for higher quality and higher status agricultural products, but have also created the
market for value added products that carry a strong identification with the
particular region of origin (Loureiro and McCluskey, 2000). Indeed, the consumer
survey undertaken within Project AGRO 422 in order to explore Portuguese
consumer behaviour towards beef showed that besides high valorisation of intrinsic
beef attributes, such as freshness, appearance, and tenderness, Portuguese
consumers regard certified beef and origin as highly important, trusting more in
domestic beef, produced in accordance with proper animal feed and animal welfare
(Banovic et al., 2006). The demand for higher dietary, health and safety standards
in beef, but also for certification and reassurance of beef’s origins and production
methods, were addressed through using the tools like labelling and traceability of
food products as well as differentiation of meat products, at the level of eating
quality, health, and convenience, and process characteristics. The strategy of
production of differentiated beef, that might be sought by the Portuguese
consumers, because of its typicality, health quality, and environmental
consciousness, is also particularly suited for less-favoured areas, where large areas
of Portugal are included, and may be seen as a comparative advantage that
influence the rural development of these regions.