Full Description
Consumer markets for foods and beverages in developed countries are well supplied and highly fragmented. Yet, the question being asked is how close retailers actually come to fulfilling their customers' requirements. The concept of consumer value is one of the main pillars underpinning the theory of market differentiation. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of satisfaction in relation to the consumption of food, with both food science and consumer science playing central parts. It approaches food quality from both the technical and the consumer satisfaction perspectives, and assesses the roles of management and regulatory tools in delivering food quality for all. Each area is discussed in detail, using the appropriate technical terminology, but keeping the text accessible to readers from both academic traditions, as well as to non-specialist readers.
Contents
1 Defining Quality, Value, Food and the Consumer.- 1 Quality and Value.- 2 An Exploration of Food, Food Quality and Food Qualities.- 3 Theoretical Perspectives on Consumer Behaviour and Food Choice.- 2 Food Quality Attributes.- 4 Food Composition.- 5 Origins and Nature of Sensory and other Performance Attributes in Foods.- 6 Food Additives, Functional Food Ingredients and Food Contaminants.- 3 Understanding the Food Consumer.- 7 Homeostatic and Psychological Bases of Eating and Drinking.- 8 The Food Consumer in Society.- 9 "Good" and "Bad" Foods.- Conclusion.- Name Index.
