From Freshness to QR Codes: How EU Shoppers Embrace Food Waste-Cutting Innovations

A multi-country EU study by CREDA–UPC–IRTA, Pack4Food, and the Agricultural University of Athens found strong consumer support and willingness to pay for microbiome preservation, freshness indicators, and QR-code traceability to cut household food waste. Higher income, education, and trust in local innovations boosted adoption, while price sensitivity and mild technology hesitancy shaped preferences.

A collaborative study by the Center in Agro-food Economics and Development (CREDA–UPC–IRTA) in Spain, Pack4Food in Belgium, and the Agricultural University of Athens in Greece sheds new light on how consumers in the European Union view innovative packaging technologies aimed at cutting household food waste. With the EU producing around 58 million tonnes of food waste each year, 131 kilograms per person, and perishable items like meat, fish, dairy, and fresh produce making up much of that total, the stakes are high. The research, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, examined three emerging solutions: microbiome-based natural preservation, active packaging with freshness indicators, and smart printed QR codes for traceability. These were tested on four perishable products, sea bass, pork, feta cheese, and lettuce, in Spain, Greece, and Belgium.

How the Study Was Designed

The research used a large-scale discrete choice experiment with 5,000 randomly selected consumers who purchase groceries at least twice a month. Participants were shown realistic product profiles combining different levels of five attributes: freshness, traceability, natural preservation, product origin, and price. Freshness was delivered via active packaging to slow spoilage and remove odors; traceability relied on QR codes providing real-time supply chain data; and natural preservation used beneficial microorganisms to prevent harmful bacterial growth without chemical additives. Product origin was classified as local, EU, or non-EU, and prices reflected actual market rates in each country. To reduce inflated willingness-to-pay (WTP) caused by hypothetical scenarios, the survey included “cheap talk” scripts and opt-out reminders prompting realistic decision-making.

Strong Consumer Support for Innovations

Results showed that approximately 75% of respondents consistently chose an option containing at least one innovation rather than the “no choice” alternative. Across all products, traceability emerged as the most positively viewed feature, followed closely by natural preservation for pork and lettuce. Freshness was the top-valued trait for sea bass (€1.40 WTP), feta cheese (€0.26), and lettuce (€0.06), while pork’s highest WTP was for natural preservation (€0.47). Traceability commanded €0.63 for sea bass, €0.21 for pork, €0.07 for feta, and €0.02 for lettuce. Consumers showed a clear preference for local innovations over non-EU ones, with Greek buyers placing especially high value on locally produced feta cheese. In some cases, EU-sourced innovations were also favored over imports from outside the bloc.

Who Is Most Willing to Pay

The study found clear demographic patterns. Higher education and income levels were strongly linked to greater willingness to pay for the innovations, indicating that awareness and financial capacity influence adoption. Older consumers in some product categories, especially sea bass and lettuce, expressed lower preferences for traceability, likely due to technology hesitancy. Larger households and female consumers tended to place higher value on traceability, perhaps because of its potential to improve household food management. For lettuce, lower-income groups were less willing to pay for freshness and preferred neither local nor EU innovations over non-EU ones. For feta cheese, older consumers valued freshness more, while larger families were less inclined toward freshness or natural preservation, and women were more likely to appreciate natural preservation.

Neophobia and Price Sensitivity

Consumer attitudes toward new food technologies were measured using the Food Technology Neophobia (FTN) scale. Average scores indicated mild aversion, ranging from 27.5 for lettuce buyers to 32.2 for feta buyers, but unexpectedly, those who chose innovative products often had slightly higher FTN scores than those who opted out, suggesting that perceived benefits can outweigh skepticism. Price sensitivity varied: older consumers, better-educated individuals, larger households, and certain lower-income groups were more resistant to higher prices, consistent with economic theory. The study also revealed “price attribute non-attendance,” where 53% of sea bass buyers and 34.4% of pork buyers ignored price entirely when choosing, potentially inflating WTP estimates and highlighting a need for caution in interpreting early-stage market interest.

Policy and Market Implications

The authors recommend targeted education and outreach to address health and safety concerns, particularly for groups less inclined to adopt innovations. Trust in local innovations could be harnessed to drive wider uptake, with policymakers and local innovators working together to promote these technologies. Regulatory backing for microbiome-based preservation, standardized frameworks for QR-code traceability, and environmental safeguards for active packaging, such as ensuring biodegradability, are seen as critical to scaling adoption. The relatively strong and consistent consumer interest across three EU countries suggests real commercial potential for microbiomes, smart QR codes, and freshness indicators. These innovations align with circular economy goals and offer opportunities for producers, retailers, and technology developers to differentiate their products while reducing waste. Early-stage public support through funding, regulation, and consumer information could help overcome initial market barriers linked to risk aversion and low awareness.

The research acknowledges its limitations. It covers only three countries and four products, restricting the ability to generalize results across the EU or globally. The absence of revealed preference data, because the technologies are still in pilot or pre-commercial stages, means real-world behavior could differ from survey responses. Future studies should include market data and broaden the range of products and locations examined. Nonetheless, the findings show that innovations integrating freshness, traceability, and natural preservation are both technologically feasible and market-acceptable. If tailored to consumer segments and backed by coordinated policy and industry action, they could play a major role in reducing household food waste and strengthening sustainable food systems.