Professional Documents
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Appetite
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / a p p e t
Research report
A R T I C L E
I N F O
Article history:
Received 28 October 2014
Received in revised form 22 January 2015
Accepted 24 January 2015
Available online 2 February 2015
Keywords:
Convenience
Meat
Packaging
Shelf-life
Consumer
Slaughter
A B S T R A C T
In past and contemporary foodscapes, meat and meat products have not only been following convenience trends, they have been at the heart of them. Historically, the rst substantial demands for meat
convenience must have been for the outsourcing of hunting or domestication, as well as slaughtering
activities. In its turn, this prompted concerns for shelf-life stabilisation and the development of preservation strategies, such as meat fermentation. Demands for ease of preparation and consumption can be
traced back to Antiquity but have gained in importance over the centuries, especially with the emergence of novel socio-cultural expectations and (perceived) time scarcity. Amongst other trends, this has
led to the creation of ready meals and meat snacks and the expansion of urban fast food cultures. Additionally, contemporary requirements focus on the reduction of mental investments, via the convenient
concealment of slaughtering, the optimisation of nutritional qualities, and the instant incorporation of
more intangible matters, such as variety, hedonistic qualities, reassurance, and identity. An overview is
given of the technological issues related to the creation of meat convenience, in its broadest sense, along
with their societal implications.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Food convenience is fundamental to present-day food markets.
It has been identied as one of the chief trends in consumer lifestyles, besides ways of shopping (fast shopping versus shopping in
specialised outlets), quality evaluation, and purchasing motives
related to, for instance, environmental concerns (Grunert, 2006). According to some estimates, the convenience trend may represent
some 16 to 18 per cent of the drive for food innovation in Europe
(Chamorro, Miranda, Rubio, & Valero, 2012).
In its most conventional form, food convenience is obtained via
high degrees of industrial processing and is driven by a demand for
ease of collection, preparation, and consumption, in particular with
respect to requirements of energy, time, labour, and skill (Ahmad &
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.01.022
0195-6663/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Anders, 2012; Belasco, 2008; Quested, Cook, Gorris, & Cole, 2010).
This leads to a facilitated ow of food from eld or stable to plate. A
reduced physical and mental investment by consumers is called for
in the general process of shopping, preparation, cooking, and handling of the food, as well as in the clearing up after the meal (Buckley,
Cowan, & McCarthy, 2007; Grunert, 2006). Some foods are even expected to be eaten effortlessly during everyday activities, i.e. while
watching television, working at a desk, phoning, or on the move.
Underlying drivers for convenience have been identied as alterations in lifestyles, including the assimilation of women in the
workforce, the emergence of single-person and small households,
variable family eating times, role overload, consumer deskilling in
terms of knowledge and cooking skills, as well as individualistic and
impulsive consumerism focussing on value-for-money, stress reduction, and time saving (Bernus, Ripoll, & Panea, 2012; Celnik,
Gillespie, & Lean, 2012; Chamorro et al., 2012; de Boer, McCarthy,
Cowan, & Ryan, 2004; Fischler, 1996; Jaffe & Gertler, 2006). For instance, time spent by North-Americans on food preparation currently
averages less than half an hour daily, whereas this was about 45
minutes to 2.5 hours in the mid-20th century (Barbut, 2012; Celnik
et al., 2012).
Of particular interest to consumers is the convenience and ease
of preparation of meat-based meals, with meat generally still being
the central element of Western diets (Font-i-Furnols & Guerrero,
2014; Ogle, 2013). Amongst European consumers, for instance,
Partial outsourcing of
preparation
Hidden meat
production
Immediate
availability
(at low cost)
Full outsourcing of
preparation
Immediate
availability
(at low cost)
Shelf-life
Ease of
preparation
Ease of
consumption
Ready-to-eat meat
and meat-based
products and meals
Fig. 1. Overview of the overall convenience framework of meat and meat-based products and meals.
41
relying on local butchers but gradually moving towards supermarket purchases, has been described for Greece (Krystallis,
Chryssochoidis, & Scholderer, 2007).
Even within a single nation, considerable heterogeneity can be
found, as has been described for Spanish attitudes towards lamb
meat, a relatively expensive product with little versatility in terms
of cooking and requiring a rather extensive preparation (Bernus
et al., 2012). In brief, convenience characteristics of lamb were a key
issue for the uninvolved type of consumers, consisting of young
and educated males with low incomes, but much less so for consumers of the traditional and adventurous types, which enjoy
creative cooking. In general, the importance of convenience for lamb
meat was better predicted by place of residence, age, and level of
formal education, than by gender and income, although price setting
clearly played a role. In addition to the latter parameters, household size has also been shown to affect convenience preferences for
meat and meat products (Resano, Prez-Cueto, Sanjun et al., 2011).
Availability and affordability
convenience has been identied as the second and third most important determinant of satisfaction with pork products and fresh
pork, respectively (Resano, Prez-Cueto, Sanjun et al., 2011; Resano,
Perez-Cueto, de Barcellos et al., 2011). As a result, convenience has
been at the basis of several major innovative technologies in the
meat sector and continues to be so (Troy & Kerry, 2010). The present
paper will generate an overview of the convenience aspects that
have been of importance for meat and meat products throughout
history, in particular by sketching the societal and technological relevance for contemporary societies. Figure 1 represents an overview
of the different aspects of convenience of meat and meat products
that will be systematically discussed in what follows.
Convenience of meat and meat products: general situation
With regard to meat and meat products, convenience is mostly
generated through technological processing in view of minimal preparation requirements at household level, preferably with substantial
shelf-life stabilisation. In addition, the wide availability of fully prepared meat snacks has become an important constituent of current
eating patterns. Yet to fully understand its nature and impact, the
concept should be tackled in its broadest sense by exploring the opportunities and constraints imposed by societal expectations and
food-related lifestyles (Grunert, 2006). Belasco (2008) therefore
places convenience as a major element besides identity and responsibility in his triangular approach of the complexity of food
systems. Of all foods, meat is arguably the most multidimensional
case with complexity on both the cultural and individual level
(Fiddes, 1991). As such, convenience is coupled to such divergent
issues as pricing, availability and choice, sustainability, safety, health,
and ethics, as well as to mental processes related to the instant generation of comfort, pleasure, excitement, reassurance, and familiarity.
This complex spectrum is also tied to a demand for mental insulation from any contact with the disassembly of animals into
refrigerated or frozen, plastic-wrapped cuts, meals, and snacks.
Expectations with respect to convenience of meat and meat products cluster along dimensions of culture and lifestyle (Grunert, 2006;
Vanhonacker et al., 2013), relating to the prevailing values and attitudes of consumers (Botonaki & Mattas, 2010). Cultural differences
may for instance be seen when comparing northern European countries with the Mediterranean area. As an example, Spaniards have
been reported to favour eating with friends or family and to be still
rather keen on buying fresh meat at traditional butchers (Bernus
et al., 2012), although the relevance of shopping in supermarkets
and hypermarkets is not to be underestimated (Chamorro et al.,
2012). A similar traditional meat chain, with consumers mostly
Humans have spent the vast majority of their existence as huntergatherers. The capturing of meat, a very perishable but highquality food, has been a laborious process that involved co-operation
of male band members and has been at the very centre of daily life
(Stanford & Bunn, 2001). One of the rst major steps towards food
convenience, as it is known today, may well have been the outsourcing of the collection, butchering, and preparation of meat, a
process that was initiated when human societies increased in size,
settled, and stratied into distinct social classes. Availability of meat
changed fundamentally from the Neolithic era on, with the advent
of agriculture and herding. Although part of the purpose of animal
domestication may have been to secure reserves of high-quality
protein, this was probably not for immediate meat accessibility
(Fiddes, 1991). To a certain extent, the modern notion of market
availability emerged during Antiquity, as in Roman towns meat was
sold in public (Alcock, 2006). Agricultural revolutions, especially in
the Low Countries and Britain, increased the availability of meat
products during the Early Modern Period (de Vries & van der Woude,
1997). Yet it was during the 19th century that a combination of
industrialisation, rationalisation, transport eciency, increases in
population and purchasing power, rising yields and new and improved methods of distribution, caused the whole food system to
change drastically (Segers, 2012). Large-scale, intensive farming of
animals dedicated to meat production and market supply did not
become established till the mid 19th century (Renton, 2013). A breakthrough was provided during the 1830s, due to railway shipping
of cheap grain and the establishment of the meat-packaging industry, such as in the Midwestern United States, enabling mass
production through an ecient division of labour along disassembly lines (Pilcher, 2005). The import of cheap American and Eastern
European feed after the 1870s also enabled land-short countries such
as The Netherlands and Denmark to start up factory farms for the
intensive production of pork and poultry (Renton, 2013). In parallel, meat availability became a major civil issue as concentrated urban
populations developed new needs. Whereas meat was a rare treat
to most during previous centuries, late 19th-century Londoners
enjoyed some 40 kg of meat per person per year with 40 per cent
of the supply being imported, for instance frozen Australian beef
(Renton, 2013).
Nowadays, the availability of meat and meat products in Western
regions is overwhelming when compared to African and Asian countries (Renton, 2013). Meat is supplied year round in abundance and
seasonal limitations or bottlenecks are hardly an issue, as illustrated for instance by the massive availability of turkey during
Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays (Barbut, 2012). To the
detriment of small butchers (Krystallis et al., 2007), meat and meat
42
warfare by the Allies during the Great War. Canning processes are
very ecient in eliminating microbial concerns, but also may have
pronounced effects on avour and texture, for instance due to denaturation of proteins. Nevertheless, such products are still available
and appreciated by many, for instance as canned pt or sausage
snacks.
Since the 1850s, fresh meat could be transported on a more reliable basis thanks to railroads and ice harvesting (Pilcher, 2005).
The introduction of the cold chain in meat logistics since the late
19th century represents a fundamental technological innovation,
revolutionising the entire concept of meat and involving a vast international network of meatpackers, wholesalers, and warehouses
(Ogle, 2013). Initially, both canning and freezing were not always
well received by local consumers, for instance in France, where
freshly slaughtered meat was believed to be superior due to issues
of quality and safety during the start-up phase of these products
(Pilcher, 2005). At rst, frozen meats were purchased, thawed, and
cooked the same day, until household refrigerators and freezers made
the purchasing and cooking of meat immensely more convenient,
as well as less wasteful and less expensive (Kiple, 2007). After the
introduction of the household refrigerator in the 1920s (Cayot, 2007),
up to 80 to 90 per cent of US families were able to refrigerate their
food by the mid-20th century (Kiple, 2007). The fridge however only
conquered Western Europe during the second half of the same
century (Scheire, 2012). Subsequently, during the 1970s and 1980s,
the chill supply chain largely gained in importance, increasingly offering ready-to-eat products (Quested et al., 2010).
In meat processing, packaging technology aims at providing an
oxygen barrier to delay spoilage of meat products via vacuum or
modied-atmosphere packaging, or rather introducing high oxygen
levels so as to accentuate the bright red colour of fresh meats by
stimulating the formation of oxymyoglobin (Troy & Kerry, 2010;
Zhou, Xu, & Liu, 2010). Innovations in packaging technology are expected to further enhance the shelf-life of meat and meat products
(Jang & Lee, 2005; Jeyamkondan, Jayas, & Holley, 2000; Zhou et al.,
2010), at the same time offering additional convenient features such
as the ease of (re-sealable) opening, transparency, and environmental friendliness (Chamorro et al., 2012; Eilert, 2005). Other
innovations include the development of lms that are compatible
with both traditional and microwave ovens (Eilert, 2005) and the
development of packaging materials that minimise or adsorb drip
losses (Troy & Kerry, 2010). Package size, in particular the differentiation between single servings and family packs is also of interest,
since it not only has implications for convenience but also for pricing
and storability (Ahmad & Anders, 2012). Even in traditional products, individual portioning is positively received (Vanhonacker et al.,
2013), as mentioned for dry-cured ham consumption by single
households (Resano, Prez-Cueto, Sanjun et al., 2011). Another packaging variation is provided by the eat me, keep me strategy, where
for instance a pt package is split up in two portions: one for immediate consumption and one for storage.
Ease of preparation
Outsourcing of food preparation goes back to Antiquity, at least;
cooks were employed as skilful specialists to readily service the gastronomic desires of the elites of Ancient Greece and Rome (Alcock,
2006). Although the profession of cook is still very relevant and inuential in contemporary societies, food preparation is now largely
being outsourced to industry. This resulted in a great expansion of
the processed meat industry during the late 19th and early 20th
century (Smil, 2013). Frozen individual whole meals and TVdinners that were industrially produced after World War II were
warmly welcomed by women entering the workforce (Cayot, 2007;
Kiple, 2007). In 1954, the company Swanson launched its iconic
turkey-based TV-dinner, followed soon by other items such as beef
43
44
the rst modern convenience meats were positioned as allAmerican, they were not only including fried chicken and turkeybased TV dinners, but also borrowed foods such as hamburgers, hot
dogs, and pepperoni (Kiple, 2007). Italian elements were included
since pre-World War II, as for Krafts Macaroni and Cheese Dinner
and Ragu spaghetti sauce, introduced in 1937. German frankfurters were fully launched in the 1950s, a decade later followed by TexMex foods and wok or teriyaki foods.
Despite their above-mentioned openness to foreign food, US citizens may still be particularly concerned about trustworthiness of
meat-based foods, in particular when this is related to hygiene and
food safety. Not having to worry about food safety may indeed be
interpreted as a demand for convenience, reducing mental investment. Already in the beginning of the 20th century, Sinclair (1906)
shocked many American consumers with his description of sausagemaking in his inuential commentary on the meat processing
industry. Despite tightened regulations on the level of food hygiene,
convenient ready-to-eat meat-based products and meals have indeed
been identied as a risk factor for food-borne diseases, for instance due to the growth of Listeria monocytogenes or other
psychrotolerant pathogens in the chill supply chain (Quested et al.,
2010). This leads to a search for technologies that can eciently
reduce the microbial risks that are associated with convenience
meats and meat products, without compromising quality (Zhou et al.,
2010). Examples include the application of high-pressure processing, for instance applied on precooked sliced meats or beef-based
chilled ready meals (Quested et al., 2010; Sorenson et al., 2011). Alternatively, radiation processing can be applied, as shown for mutton
mince and chicken-derived products (Kanatt, Rao, Chawla, & Sharma,
2010). Since such technologies may be perceived as unnatural, meatpreserving methods based on natural antimicrobials are often
considered (Naidu, 2000), including the use of selected (bacteriocinproducing) meat starter cultures (Ravyts, De Vuyst, & Leroy, 2012)
and bioprotective cultures (Vasilopoulos et al., 2010; Vasilopoulos,
De Vuyst, & Leroy, 2015).
Worldwide, the importance of extrinsic product attributes is expected to rise in the future, especially with respect to certication,
packaging, and branding (Chamorro et al., 2012; Font-i-Furnols &
Guerrero, 2014; Grunert, 2006; Martnez Michel, Punter, & Wismer,
2011; Resano, Perez-Cueto, de Barcellos et al., 2011). Consumers are
clearly looking for reference points, since convenience-generating
processing may affect quality and perceived naturalness. Although quality is of course a dynamic and context-dependent
concept that is dicult to dene and leads to consumer heterogeneity (Font-i-Furnols & Guerrero, 2014; Iaccarino et al., 2006; Troy
& Kerry, 2010), some of the involved process steps can indeed measurably affect the nal sensory criteria (Cayot, 2007). Pre-slicing and
packaging of ham, for instance, leads to detectable avour losses
(Resano, Prez-Cueto, Sanjun et al., 2011). At some point, the importance of naturalness may also outweigh the demand of certain
consumers for further processing and ease of preparation
(Vanhonacker et al., 2013), as found for value-added poultry products (Ahmad & Anders, 2012). Such negatively perceived products
often encompass processed breaded/battered products, such as
chicken burgers and nuggets, as well as avoured chicken wings
(Martnez Michel et al., 2011). Similar observations have been made
for beef products, especially on the level of marinating, canning, and
the use of additives (Verbeke, Prez-Cueto, de Barcellos, Krystallis,
& Grunert, 2010). Also, intensive high-pressure processing of beefbased meals leads to depreciation of quality, except for those
consumers who are convenience-driven or uninvolved (Sorenson
et al., 2011).
In Europe, consumers still tend to allocate more trust to butchers advice than to anonymous supermarket alternatives (Grunert,
2006; Krystallis et al., 2007). The importance of such advice has been
demonstrated for several fresh meats and meat products
45
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