Food Marketing & Technology - India May 2019 | Page 36

Processing
CHALLENGES CONSUMER FACE
IN SELECTING QUALITY MEAT
BY: SIDDHANT WANGDI *
T
here is a remarkable increase in
the level of awareness about the
way food is produced, stored,
transported, preserved, cooked, and
consumed. Each stage is immensely
vital and cannot be ignored at any cost.
The consumers want to know about
the place of origin of the food that they
eat in addition to several other points
of concern. Buying meat is a daily
activity and requires knowledge and
information. The focus of this article
is on the everyday challenges faced by
a consumer while buying meat at the
market.
India is a country of 1.3 billion people.
A survey was undertaken by the
Sample Registration System (SRS) in
2014 reported that Indians, especially
of the the ever so growing middle
class, are non-vegetarians. The survey
also stated that India’s meat market
is valued at approximately $30 billion
with an annual growth of 20-25
percent. Thus, statistics make it even
more necessary that consumers need to
be aware of the risks and the ways to
avoid those risks while buying the best
quality meat. Consumers are facing
lots of challenges while selecting meat
for their consumption; some of the
main challenges faced by consumers
are listed below:
Unorganised Market
The large part of the meat
market is still unorganised
Indian meat markets are largely
operated in traditional ways. A
considerable percentage of consumers
still buy their meat from wet markets.
The bazaars, local butchers, make-
shift shops and mandis are still abuzz
The meat must be
hygienically processed
whether it is done at the
market, at a commercial
plant or at home. Hygiene
plays the most important
part of maintaining the
quality of meat
with meat vendors catering to the
highly demanding consumer-base
of meat eaters. This unorganised
market has a huge potential to bring
in changes to provide better meat
to consumers. However, currently,
Food Marketing & Technology
36
May 2019
the handling, hygiene and storage
still remain questionable in terms
of quality. Contaminated meat with
no warnings can be spotted at these
markets because of the lack of scrutiny.
Therefore, the chances of risks increase
when meat is being purchased from
this unorganised market.
Hygiene is not on the Menu
Serious trouble with hygiene
and handling of the meat
The meat must be hygienically
processed whether it is done at the
market, at a commercial plant or
at home. Hygiene plays the most
important part of maintaining the
quality of meat. The good quality