Consumer Preferences for Public and Private Sector Certifications for Beef Products in the United States and the United Kingdom

Focus groups and street surveys are used in the US and the UK to determine consumer perceptions of the ability of different agencies, associations, and groups to certify beef products for quality, food safety, animal welfare, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility. US consumers see the role of the federal government primarily as assuring food safety but desire the private sector to make other types of certifications. UK consumers prefer the private sector to assure food safety. UK store brands are perceived as providing the highest quality but in the US participants identified manufacturer brand names as having the highest quality.