Consumer attitudes toward new technique for preserving organic meat using herbs and berries

•We studied consumer attitudes toward preserving meat using herbs and berries.•In general consumer attitudes toward the new technique were positive.•The positive attitudes were based on perceptions related to naturalness.•Concerns were primarily product related.•The intention to purchase products is influenced by taste and appearance.

This study aims to explore consumers' attitude toward a new preservation technique using herbs and berries in organic meat production, which enables to minimize the amount of chemical additives and to reduce the salt content in meat products. Consumer acceptance of the preservation technique using herbs and berries and intention to purchase products preserved with herbs and berries were investigated through a qualitative approach by means of three focus groups. In general, most participants were positive toward the preservation technique using herbs and berries and there were only few concerns related to the technique. Concerns were related not as much to the technique but more to the products. Four factors seem important in this relation: shelf life, taste, appearance and texture. The intention to purchase products preserved with herbs and berries is generally high, but is dependent on taste and appearance of the products, the price and information level.