Influence of “best before” dates on expected and actual food liking

Abstract

PurposeThe manner in which consumers understand and interpret date labels influences their attitudes toward food quality at the purchase and consumption stage. The purpose of this study is to (1) evaluate the influence of “best before” dates on expected food liking and (2) assess how sensory perception and expectations toward “best before” dates influence actual food liking.Design/methodology/approachA consumer sensory study was conducted among 110 participants in Poland. The participants' attitudes were examined toward food products (rice, sponge cookies, canned fruit salad and leaf tea) labelled with different “best before” dates and toward those same but unlabelled food products. The consumers' expected liking based solely on “best before” dates were also evaluated.FindingsThe analysis showed that date labels may have an opposite contribution to consumer apprehension of foods. It is proved that “best before” dates maintain a consumer’s positive attitude toward fresh products and reduce consumer uncertainty regarding food edibility, which would be experienced in the absence of date labels. Conversely, results of this study confirmed date labels' role in consumers denigrating expired food and showed consumers' unreasonable convictions that the food's sensory attributes were altered. Thus, otherwise safe and edible food was wasted – it was shelf-life information, not sensory quality, that determined the tested food's perceived value.Originality/valueThe originality of this study is that it involves product assessment to explore the interaction between consumers and a food product's sensory attributes in the context of making decisions that are influenced by the “best-before” date.