Aplicação da Teoria do Comportamento Planejado na intenção de consumo de carne vermelha e na realização de comportamentos de segurança dos alimentos por consumidores no Brasil

Abstract

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is used to explain human behavior. Understanding which factors influence consumers’ intention to perform a certain behavior is essential to the development of effective messages for the population. This study used the TPB to understand the determinants of Brazilian consumers’ intentions to consume red meat and to carry out food safety behaviors by consumers while handling food at home. In addition, the microbiological quality of ground beef sold at commercial establishments in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, and consumers’ knowledge about food safety of consumers in the region were evaluated. All TPB predictors (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control) shown to have a positive and significant influence on both behaviors. When evaluating the intention to consume meat among Brazilian regions, the predictive power and significance of TPB predictors varied among regions, with attitude being the only predictor that had a significant influence on intention in all regions. Optimism bias (OB) was included as a new TPB predictor when investigating consumers’ intention to perform food safety behaviors. OB had a significant influence on intention and increased the variance of intention explained by TPB. Fifty percent of ground beef samples from butcher shops in Pelotas had counts above the limits established by Brazilian legislation for aerobic mesophilic microorganisms and two samples had counts above the limit established for coagulase positive staphylococci. In addition, consumers' knowledge of food safety had the lowest scores for items related to "cook thoroughly" and "keep food at safe temperatures". TPB is a useful instrument for understanding Brazilian consumers’ red meat consumption and food safety behaviors. All TPB predictors positively and significantly influenced both behaviors, but their predictive power and significance varied. Based on the results, it is possible to elaborate marketing and governmental campaigns focusing on the predictors that had a major influence on intention.