European consumers' perceptions of time-temperature indicators in food packaging

Kyösti Pennanen (Corresponding Author), C. Focas, V. Kumpusalo-Sanna, K. Keskitalo-Vuokko, I. Matullat, M. Ellouze, Saara Pentikäinen, Maria Smolander, V. Korhonen, M. Ollila

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    40 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Food quality is an essential aspect of the food industry. Time-temperature indicator (TTI) technology has the capability to provide information on temperature fluctuations that temperature-sensitive food products have undergone. However, the adoption of the TTI technology in the consumer market has yet to materialize despite the many benefits that TTIs bring to food manufacturers, retailers and consumers. One of the reasons for this could be the general lack of knowledge regarding consumers' perceptions of TTIs. The aim of this study is to understand the consumers' knowledge, interest and perceptions of TTIs. To reach this aim, 16 focus group discussions and a quantitative survey were conducted in four European countries (Finland, Greece, France and Germany) during May-October 2012. Consumers' views on both the TTI technology concept and two commercially available TTI applications were studied. The results of the study show that consumers in all countries appreciate and understand TTI technology and associate differing benefits with it, especially so in warmer countries. On the other hand, the studied applications did not meet all consumers' expectations implying the need for further work to enable TTIs to gain a wider acceptance.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)303-323
    JournalPackaging Technology and Science
    Volume28
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • time-temperature indicator
    • consumer
    • intelligent label
    • food packaging
    • cold-chain management

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