Behaviour of Belgian consumers, related to the consumption, storage and preparation of cooked chilled foods

- A survey was conducted on the consumer behaviour towards cooked chilled foods.
- 677 of the 874 participants had eaten a cooked chilled food in the last year.
- Consumption frequency is higher between the ages of 18 and 30.
- Only half of the consumers respect the 'use by' date or the reheating guidelines.
- 20% of packages is consumed on the day of purchase, and 75% after 4 days.

Cooked chilled foods or Refrigerated and Processed Foods of Extended Durability (REPFEDs) are a heterogeneous group of food products designed for consumer convenience. The consumer exposure to pathogenic microorganisms due to the consumption of REPFEDs is influenced by the industrial production process and by consumer behaviour. A consumer survey was organised and conducted to assess the consumption frequency, storage time, reheating practices and perception of and respect for the product's 'use by' date. The survey was conducted at a local food fair in Belgium with 874 respondents correctly completing the questionnaire. Over three quarters (77.5%, n = 677) had consumed at least one REPFED over the last year. Consumption frequency was the highest between the ages of 18 and 30. Nine out of ten consumers were able to give an acceptable estimate of the shelf life of REPFEDs (e.g. less than four weeks). By contrast, only half of the consumers (53.3%) fully respected the 'use by' date as indicated on the packaging. The majority of the remaining consumers (39.6%) would consume the product until three days past the 'use by' date; 2.5% of the consumers would still consume the product after more than three days past the 'use by' date and 4.6% did not consider the 'use by' date. In addition, only half of the consumers fully complied with the reheating instructions on the label, 36.5% only partially followed these instructions and 13.4% did not follow them at all. Data analysis showed that consumers, who did not respect the 'use by' date, were also less likely to follow the reheating instructions. To determine the distribution of the time a REPFED spends in a consumer fridge, the consumers were asked how frequently they bought REPFEDs and how they stored them. Using this information an attempt was made to construct a time-to-consumption (TTC) distribution. This TTC demonstrated that approx. 20% of REPFEDs was consumed on the day of purchase; about half (52.9%) were consumed within two days of purchase, 75.5% within four days and over 90% during the first week. These short storage times are likely to reduce the exposure to psychrotrophic microorganisms present in REPFEDs.