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Buying Seafood: It’s Risky
Conference presentation

Buying Seafood: It’s Risky

Dawn Birch
2011 University Research Conference Program Book, p.16
USC Research Conference, 2011 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 18-Jul-2011–22-Jul-2011)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2011
url
http://www.usc.edu.au/View
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Abstract

Marketing seafood consumption Australia
Despite an abundance of seafood being available to Australian consumers, annual seafood consumption in Australia is well below recommended levels of two serves per week and average consumption for other industrialized nations. Most Austalian consumers consider seafood to be an important part of a healthy and balanced diet. However, when purchasing seafood, consumers weigh up various considerations of risk which may act as a barrier to consumption. The purpose of the research reported in this presentation was to identify drivers and barriers influencing seafood consumption in Australia. This presentation focuses on barriers that arise from the perceived risk of seafood consumption and how these perceived risks vary across consumption groups (regular, light and very light). Strategies for reducing perceived risks as a means of stimulating seafood consumption are proposed. A survey of Australian consumers (n=899) was conducted by a commercial research company via an online consumer panel in June 2010. The survey included regular (n=296), light (n=303) and very light (n=300) seafood consumers. Questions were drawn from an extensive review of the literature on seafood consumption, and recent qualitative and quantitative research studies of seafood consumption in Australia conducted on behalf of the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre. The findings reveal that perceptions of functional, psychological, social, financial and physical risk create barriers to seafood consumption in Australia, and with the exception of financial risk, perceptions of risk vary across consumption segments. The challenge for the Australian seafood industry is to build consumer trust and reduce the perceived level of risk associated with seafood purchasing and consumption. Strategies for reducing the perceived risks of seafood consumption include building and delivering trusted and well-known products and brands, improving knowledge and confidence through consumer education, providing suffi cient and trustworthy information, and providing safety, quality and country of origin assurances.

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