Quality guidance: A consumer-based approach to food quality improvement using partial least squares

TLDR

An effective quality enhancement programme must consider physical product characteristics important to targeted consumers, and the quality guidance approach uses consumers' quality judgments as the starting point to relate them to those characteristics. The study presents a conceptual model and methodology for improving the physical food product based on consumer demands. Partial Least Squares is employed to estimate the relationships in the conceptual model, and the method is empirically applied to blade steak. The results indicate that the quality guidance approach is conceptually sound and useful.

Abstract

An effective quality enhancement programme must include consideration of those characteristics of the physical product which are important to targeted consumers. We present a conceptual model and methodology for the improvement of the physical food product, based on the demands of the consumer. This so-called quality guidance approach takes consumers' quality judgements as the point of departure and relates them to the characteristics of the physical product. Partial Least Squares is used to estimate the relationships in our conceptual model of quality guidance. An empirical application is provided using blade steak. The results suggest that the quality guidance approach is conceptually sound and useful.