Horse Meat Scandal

ARE CONSUMERS NOWADAYS INTERESTED IN INGREDIENTS WHEN PURCHASING RANDOM GROCERY? CASE STUDY OF THE HORSE MEAT SCANDAL IN EUROPE

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Abstract

Time and again, most consumers purchase items from the shops including groceries and other food products without considering the ingredients that make up the food product or the grocery.However, recent findings and scandals regarding ready-made food and grocery, most notably, the horse-meat scandal that shocked people in Europe, have significantly changed consumers shopping habits. This study attempts to show that, most consumers today, are interested in the ingredients that make up the groceries or food that they purchase off-the-shelf in restaurants, malls and supermarkets.

Theses debacles above all, have managed to shed more light on an important aspect that concerns the food that we, as consumers, consume. Over the years, the global food chain has become complex and sophisticated; a fact that is attributable to major food companies losing their grip on the ingredients they use because of their objective of maximizing profits at all

This, Moss (2013) argues has been proven by the recent scandals, the horse meat scandal, the peanut farce and other mislabeling allegations. Moss also contends that, consumers are not aware of the many sophisticated methodologies manufacturers use in formulating the foods and groceries that we purchase, as such, he urges that consumers must be wary of the nutrition facts and tip-offs that are provided on the product labels. This is position and point emphasized on by MacDonald (2012), who argues that individuals have the right to know what ingredients are in the random groceries or food that they purchase; however, he maintains that, this right is not legal, but moral, even though, there are certain jurisdictions that it might be a legal regulation for manufacturers to include the list of ingredients in the product