Portuguese consumers' attitudes and perceptions of bivalve molluscs

- Majority of respondents consume clams and prefer bivalves from national production.
- Smell, size and shell appearance were the most important quality criteria.
- Consumers are aware about the risks associated with clams consumption.
- Attitudes and preferences differed according demographic and socio-economic status.
- Important to predict the risks of bivalve consumption by health authorities.

Bivalves have been promoted as healthy food in many countries. Yet, little information is available about bivalve consumers' purchasing behaviour and attitudes. The aim of this study was to investigate the marketing and quality aspects of several bivalve species with economical value in Portugal and to examine the relationship between each respondent's demographic and socio-economic status with bivalve consumption attitudes and preferences. A randomly selected sample of 1778 people answered a web-based questionnaire. The majority of respondents claimed to consume clams (pullet carpet shell clam and Japanese carpet shell clam) and usually prefer bivalves from national production. Smell, size and cleaned shells were considered as the most important criteria when choosing live bivalves. Most consumers buy clams in supermarkets and revealed good knowledge about the risks associated with its consumption. Trust in the selling establishment and product's label information was the main perceived quality criteria associated to bivalve purchasing. Nonetheless, consumers' attitudes and preferences differed considerably according to their demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The current findings provide a useful tool for producers and stakeholders involved in the trade chain of bivalves to understand the consumption profile and the most important quality criteria involved in bivalve purchase. Additionally, it is an important tool to predict the risks of bivalve consumption as well as to understand the different scenarios of contamination occurring in harvesting areas by national competent authorities.