Relationship between the price of fish and its quality attributes: a study within a community at the University of São Paulo, Brazil

• Main Authors: Erika Da Silva Maciel, Luciana Kimie Savay-da-Silva, Julia Santos Vasconcelos, Jaqueline Girnos Sonati, Juliana Antunes Galvão, Leandro Kanamaru Franco De Lima, Marília Oetterer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos 2013-09-01
• Series: Food Science and Technology
• Subjects: consumer; preference; fish; quality
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-20612013000300010&lng=en&tlng=en

The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between the products' market price and attributes related to fish purchase and consumption within a university community in Brazil. A structured questionnaire consisting of a five-point Likert scale was used. It was previously tested and made available to the university community via the Internet. The sample comprised 1966 voluntaries including university students and faculty and staff members. A descriptive analysis of data was performed using Spearman's correlation analysis. The results showed that the majority of the respondents (56%) consume fish at home; some consume fish at restaurants (39%), and 5% at family or friends' houses, reinforcing the idea that variables such as culture and reference groups are fundamental determinants of purchase and consumption behavior. It was identified a significant (p < 0.001) and very strong correlation between the attributes price and nutritional value (r = 0.92); price and availability at the usual places of purchase (r = 0.92); price and packaging (r = 0.92); price and brand name (r = 0.91); and price and of the Federal Inspection stamp (r = 0.91) and a low positive correlation (p < 0.001) between the price variable and the initiative for fish traceability (r = 0.16). This study demonstrated that the price of fish is associated with the quality of the product and the attributes related to it such as packaging, nutritional value, and availability of the product in the market.