Consumer's perception and willingness to buy nutrient enriched designer eggs in Pakistan.

Egg provides a perfectly packaged, highly nutritious food containing vital nutrients essential for human (HU et al., 2001). Due to its excellent profile of nutrients, less cost and versatility in food preparation egg is a popular food item for all societies of the World. Enrichment of eggs with different health promoting bioactive components has gained enormous popularity in recent years (MAZALLI et al., 2004; SLOMINSKI et al., 2006; JIA et al., 2008). The most popular nutrient enhanced eggs are those that are lower in saturated fats and higher in omega-3 fatty acids than regular eggs. In developed countries these eggs are sold at a premium price compared to conventional eggs. Possible benefits of consuming omega-3 enriched eggs could be reduced coronary heart disease, positive effect on central nervous system, reduced rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory disorders and other diseases (SOSSIDOU et al., 2005; MOORE et al., 2006; BERNSTEIN et al., 2008; RAMAKRISHNAN et al., 2009; YASHODHARA et al., 2009). Research on different aspects of designer egg production is of continued interest in the developed countries for the last two decades. Many experiments have been conducted on the effectiveness and potential impact of enrichment of production performance of laying hens and egg quality (CHERIAN, 2002; MAZALLI et al., 2004; HAYAT et al., 2009). As a result a variety of nutrient enriched designer eggs are available in super markets of developed countries. However, market research to determine consumer perception of omega-3 enriched designer eggs is scanty especially related to developing countries. There appears to be little available information on public attitudes towards designer eggs. This kind of information is essential for the formulation of marketing strategies and dissemination of the usefulness of these beneficial eggs. Many authors emphasized on carrying out research in this important area (e.g. SOSSIDOU et al., 2005; VERBEKE, 2005). Therefore, the aim of this study was to know consumers’ attitude towards fat/cholesterol contents of food, to better recognise their knowledge about designer eggs and willingness to purchase nutrient enriched eggs in Pakistan.

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