Consumer purchase intention towards a quick response (QR) code for antibiotic information: an exploratory study

Hollie Bradford; Claire McKernan; Chris Elliott; Moira Dean

doi:10.1038/s41538-022-00136-4

Consumer purchase intention towards a quick response (QR) code for antibiotic information: an exploratory study

NPJ Sci Food. 2022 Apr 20;6(1):23. doi: 10.1038/s41538-022-00136-4.

Authors

Hollie Bradford¹, Claire McKernan², Chris Elliott², Moira Dean²

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, UK. hbradford01@qub.ac.uk.
² Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, UK.

Abstract

Increasing awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has raised concerns surrounding antimicrobial use (AMU) in food-producing animals and has focused attention towards livestock production free from antibiotic use. As antibiotic-free livestock production proliferates in the UK, there is an increasing need to implement a system, such as the use of a QR code, to provide consumers with reliable antibiotic information while ensuring that animal welfare standards are upheld. Subsequently, this study aims to explore UK consumers' perceptions and purchase intention towards QR code labelled pork, and to identify determinants of its purchase, incorporating various theoretical constructs from the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Based on results, consumers' perceptions, perceived control, and attitudes towards QR code labelled pork are the main determinants of purchase intention. QR code labelled pork may offer a suitable alternative to antibiotic-free labelling as it provides consumers with antibiotic information without inadvertently communicating that conventionally produced pork is unsafe.