Consumer Confusion Over the Significance of Meat Attributes: The Case of Veal

Animal scientists today can produce pale colored grain-fed veal, thus achieving a high quality grade, while averting concerns over unethical treatment of milk-fed calves and excessive antibiotic use in milk-fed veal production. It is feared, however, that consumers may reject pale cuts of veal labeled as Grain-fed. Random parameter logit analyses of data from repeated choice experiments conducted in six suburban supermarkets in Quebec (n = 1027) revealed that intrinsic color of veal meat and extrinsic labeling of production method may significantly influence product choice; however, the direction of effects were inconsistent across ethnic and non-ethnic consumers and between experienced and non-experienced consumers of veal meat. Price effects were significant, but with a positive mean and a large standard deviation, indicating that, for many consumers, price may act as an surrogate indicator of veal meat quality. Older freshness dates were significantly discounted. It thus appears that most consumers will not categorically reject pale veal meat with a grain-fed label.