Consumers' views on egg quality and preferences for responsible production – results from nine European countries

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide information on how citizens in nine countries across Europe perceive egg product quality and what the importance is of a product’s sustainability attributes (animal welfare, country of origin, production method) in egg purchases. Design/methodology/approach – The data was gathered in 2021 via an online survey in nine European countries (Finland, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Denmark). A total of 3,601 responses were collected. As methods of analysis, exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t test, paired samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted when investigating the quality dimensions of egg products and the differences amongst the sociodemographic groups. Findings – Citizens in European countries considered animal welfare aspects, production method, and country of origin important when purchasing egg products. Citizens’ perceived quality of egg products were related to two dimensions (i.e. product properties, responsible production), and there were differences in perceptions by sociodemographic groups (i.e. age, gender, education, country of residence). Responsible production was most valued by younger women with higher education. Also, in the Netherlands and Romania, citizens had stronger preferences for product properties compared to responsible production, while in Germany, responsible production was appreciated more than product properties. Originality/value – The study provides new information on citizens’ perceived egg product quality and the role of a product’s sustainability attributes in egg purchases. Furthermore, the results bring novel insights on the differences in perceptions amongst citizens living in nine European countries. Keywords – Egg consumption, Food quality, Sustainability attributes, Responsible production  Paper type – Research paper