Relations between consumer's concern with own health and their perception about frankfurters with functional ingredients.

This study investigated possible relationships between the consumer's concern about their own health and their perception of frankfurter sausages incorporated with functional ingredients. A 5-step online questionnaire was applied as follows: identification and recruitment; application of the completion test; the shopping list technique (to determine the consumers' impressions about food incorporated with dietary fibre and omega-3 fatty acids); attitudinal issues; socioeconomic matters. The addition of dietary fibre and omega-3 to the frankfurters provided predominantly positive associations. Consumers perceived the neutral shopping list as having been written by individuals who are unconcerned with healthy eating habits and/or have allegedly normal eating habits while the healthy shopping list was perceived as having been written by an individual with healthy eating habits/lifestyle, who is concerned about his/her weight. The predominantly positive attitude towards added dietary fibre and omega-3 to frankfurters and the consumers' perception of these functional ingredients show that formulating meat products with both ingredients may be successful for the consumer's market.

Understanding the consumer's perception of traditional frankfurters and frankfurters with healthy attributes through sorting task and hard laddering techniques.

This study evaluated the consumer's perception towards traditional frankfurters and frankfurters with healthy attributes through sorting task and hard laddering techniques. Images with descriptions of various frankfurter types (traditional, with natural antioxidants, reduced sodium, reduced fat, as a source of dietary fibre, with omega 3, no phosphate added, no nitrite added) were presented as stimuli to 164 previously recruited consumers. The lack of information, natural, flavour issues and not being appealing characterised the no phosphate and no nitrite frankfurter groups. The consequences mentioned by the consumers that justified the choice of frankfurters with reduced sodium and fat were to avoid high blood pressure, concern about the prevention of diseases, negative perception of sodium and fat in the diet and help in weight control. It can be concluded that consumers are willing to substitute a product in traditional frankfurter with a healthier option. Among the more promising prospects for the market, are the frankfurters with reduced sodium and reduced fat.