Beef consumption and production in Spain and Brazil are different with the consumption of beef in Brazil being three times higher than in Spain. In addition, there are variations in the economic value of production and in the traceability system. Therefore, the aim of this research was to understand the purchasing and consumption patterns using the customer behavior analysis technique of focus groups, which analyzed motivations for the consumption of beef, classifying their preferences by the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes at the time of purchase. The key aspect of the consumption of beef, both for Spanish and Brazilian consumers, was personal satisfaction/flavor. Spanish consumers were more conscious than Brazilians of the beneficial and harmful qualities that meat provides. The presence of fat was the factor that most restricted intake in both countries. The most important intrinsic attributes for Spanish and Brazilian consumers were the visual aspects of the meat: color, freshness, and the quantity and disposition of fat. The most important extrinsic characteristics were the price and expiration date. Spanish consumers see packaged meat as convenient and safe, although it is considered by Brazilians to be over-manipulated. The traceability certification on the label provides credibility to the product for the Spanish but only partially for Brazilians.

This cross-cultural study aimed to determine the main factors behind potential changes in eating habits by analyzing changes in the patterns of beef consumption currently observed in Brazil, Spain, and Turkey. To achieve this aim, 412 regular beef consumers from Brazil, 407 from Spain, and 424 from Turkey answered a self-administered questionnaire. The study surveyed the effects of economic factors, switching from beef to other sources of protein, aspects of credence, health-related concerns, the influence of lifestyle on beef consumption patterns, and purchasing decision factors. The most important factors that changed consumer behavior and resulted in a decrease in consumption, mostly among Brazilian and Turkish consumers, were the economics and accessibility of the products. Beef was replaced by other alternative sources of protein that were likewise derived from animals. The consumers whose purchasing intentions were most significantly influenced by credence factors (e.g., indiscriminate use of agricultural products, substandard animal welfare requirements, among others) were Brazilian and Turkish and, to a lesser degree, Spanish consumers. Lifestyle factors (e.g., consumption of out-of-home meals, available time to cook, among others) were demonstrated to alter consumption patterns and therefore must be carefully considered by the industry, taking into account cultural differences and consumer needs. The population under investigation considered that eating beef had no impact on their health.

Wooden breast (WB), white striping (WS) and spaghetti meat (SM) are breast myopathies of the Pectoralis major that greatly affect meat quality in broilers. To differentiate color and texture characteristics with instrumental methods, some of them applied for the first time in this species, 300 carcasses were randomly chosen from an abattoir from five different flocks from the same farm, at a rate of 60 carcasses from each flock. Twenty-four hours after slaughter, both side breasts were dissected, and yields calculated. Color was measured on the surface of the breast with a spectrocolorimeter and reflectance values obtained. Texture was measured on raw meat with a modified compression test that hinders the fiber from expanding transversally and a texture profile analysis (TPA) and also on cooked meat with a Warner–Bratzler shear and a TPA. Color differs between severity degrees, increasing redness (from −1.77 to −1.32 in WB) and, especially, yellowness (from 5.00 to 6.73 in WS) and chroma (from 5.75 to 7.22 in SM) with the severity of the myopathy. The subtraction R630 minus R580 was found to be a useful index to differentiate breast myopathies degrees. The modified compression test can be considered an effective tool to assess the hardness of different structures in each myopathy. Texture differences in the myopathies are better assessed in raw than in cooked meat.

The consumer environment determines consumers’ buying behavior and product preferences, and understanding these factors allows businesses in the industry to identify market demands. In view of the different contexts, Spain and Brazil, there are differences in the consumption of beef, in the production and the regulatory process concerning beef, and in particular the traceability system. The traceability system is mandatory in Spain and voluntary in Brazil. From these prerogatives, this cross-cultural study carried out through a self-administered questionnaire with 2132 Spanish and Brazilian beef buyers/consumers, aimed at comparing and understanding the familiarity with the bovine traceability system and traceability information of the label as a food security indicator. It is concluded that traceability information is well received by consumers as an attribute of credibility, and consumers are interested in ensuring that the item they buy is of known and reliable origin. But more incentives may help clarify the advantages of purchasing food with certified traceability, making it more effective for consumers to use this knowledge.

Check-all-that-apply (CATA) is a methodology for sensory product characterization that can be used by consumers. These characteristics, on the other hand, are determined by a trained panel, and consumers are not asked how they perceive these attributes; as a result, some of the characteristics raised by the trained panel may not be relevant to consumers. In this study, the CATA test was applied to characterize three types of hot dogs, those with or without irradiation and salt reduction, and the focus group (FG) technique was employed to determine the CATA descriptors. Each participant in the FG provided five words (attributes) that, in their opinion, best defined each sample. Then, to understand the meaning and to assemble each of the different terms, a discussion of the defined attributes was conducted. The list of CATA descriptors was compiled using the most often cited attributes. The findings indicate that the major difference in hot dogs was between the formulations with and without sodium reduction. The consumers only noticed minor effects resulting from the irradiation process. The use of focus group as the method to select the CATA descriptors related to hot dogs was proven to be valid since the words that were listed for these samples were attributes that typically characterize hot dog sausages.