A study on brand preference of baby foods with special reference to semi solid foods

ABSTRACT
Food is an important component of health care for infants, For this parents always try to give

their baby nutritious food. Due to lack of time, home-prepared foods cannot be given to the

children always by the parents. So they go for tinned foods available in the markets. The

parents prefer tinned food not only for quality but also for some additional nutrients provided

by the manufacturers. Hence at this point, it is essential to study the consumer's behaviour

towards baby food and the factors determining their satisfaction. Several firms' had been

engaging in production and marketing of instant food products. Hence, the consumers had

greater options to choose from. Understanding the consumer behaviour would help the firms

in formulating strategies to cater to the needs of the consumer and thereby increase their

market share. Consumer's taste and preference were found to change rapidly, especially in a

dynamic environment. In this context, a study on consumer behaviour was deemed to be

important to understand the buying behaviour and preferences of different consumers.

1
INTRODUCTION

Food is the basic need of a man. It provides adequately for the baby" s growth and

maintenance. Food furnishes the body with the energy required for all human activities. It

provides materials required for the building and renewal of body tissues and substances that

act to regulate body processes. The changing food environment is the reason for increasing

variety of food forms available for purchase. Nutrition is one of the most important aspect a

parent must consider during early stages of baby's life. Four to twelve months old is a period

of intense change, requiring specific need and protection for babies. So, the use of processed

foods in the feeding of infants is also on the increase in different parts of the world.

In the changing scenario, the "baby's health" is the top priority for the parents. Every

father and mother wants to make their baby very strong and healthy. For this, parents always

try to give their baby, nutritious food. As Indian are also going in for the nuclear family

structure, the grandmother's care has reduced considerably. Also due to lack of time, they

cannot always give their baby home prepared food. Parents are in search of readymade food

for the baby without much annoyance. Hence, they purchase different types of baby food,

which are available in the market to fullfill these requirements of baby food.

Semi solid foods is an essential commodity, which is inevitable in our day-to-day life.

Hardly is any human being who does not taste semi solid foods through out his life. India

being basically agricultural country semi solid foods and dairy products are by-products of

several million agriculturalists. Gone are the days when semi solid foods can be purchased

only from semi solid foods vendors. In these days when almost all items are sold in

readymade forms in packets and semi solid foods is no more exception. It can be purchased at

any time from a grocery shop. It is also good from health point of view as it is purified and

the cholesterol content is removed from it. Several brands are available in the form of

2
packet semi solid foods. The term “Brand Preference” means the preference of the consumer

for one brand of a product in relation to various other brands of the same product available in

the market. Customer may be buyer or user. Buyer is the person who makes actual or uses the

product or service. The choice of the consumers is revealed by brand preference. This brand

preference is the comparatively investing and a new field of study.

3
INDUSTRY PROFILE:

India with 234 million cows and 225 million buffaloes has the largest population of cattle in

the world. Total cattle population in the country as on October 2007 stood as 513 million.

More than fifty percent of the buffaloes and twenty percent of the cattle in the world are

found in India and most of these are Semi solid foods cows and Semi solid foods buffaloes.

India’s Semi solid foods production has increased by 5 percent. The Semi solid foods

production in India accounts for more than 15 percent of the total world output and 57

percent of the total Asia’s production. The top five Semi solid foods producing nations in the

world are India, USA, Russia, Germany and France. Semi solid foods production has grown

at a fast pace during the last three decades, Semi solid foods yield are:

1) Lack of use of scientific practices in Semi solid foodsing.

2) Inadequate availability of fodder in all seasons.

The world's biggest dairy producing country is growing fast and looking to become an

export powerhouse despite major quality problems...

A Note to our Readers: the following information on India's dairy sector is reproduced from

India Infoline.com. India is the world's largest milk producing country and is growing fast,

with an eye toward becoming a major dairy exporter. This article is helpful reading for

anyone interested better understanding.

Consumer Habits and Practices

Milk has been an integral part of Indian food for centuries. The per capita availability

of milk in India has grown from 172 gm per person per day in 1972 to 182gm in 1992 and

203 gm in 1998-99.This is expected to increase to 212gms for 2008. However a large part of

the population cannot afford milk. At this per capita consumption it is below the world

4
average of 285 gm and even less than 220 gm recommended by the Nutritional Advisory

Committee of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

There are regional disparities in production and consumption also. The per capita

availability in the north is 278 gm, west 174 gm, south 148 gm and in the east only 93 gm per

person per day. This disparity is due to concentration of milk production in some pockets and

high cost of transportation. Also the output of milk in cereal growing areas is much higher

than elsewhere which can be attributed to abundant availability of fodder, crop residues, etc

which have a high food value for milky animals.

In India about 46 per cent of the total milk produced is consumed in liquid form and

47 per cent is converted into traditional products like cottage butter, ghee, paneer, khoya,

curd, malai, etc. Only 7 per cent of the milk goes into the production of western products like

milk powders, processed butter and processed cheese. The remaining 54% is utilized for

conversion to milk products. Among the milk products manufactured by the organized sector

some of the prominent ones are ghee, butter, cheese, ice creams, milk powders, malted milk

food, condensed milk infants foods etc. Of these ghee alone accounts for 85%.

It is estimated that around 20% of the total milk produced in the country is consumed

at producer-household level and remaining is marketed through various cooperatives, private

dairies and vendors. Also of the total produce more than 50% is procured by cooperatives and

other private dairies.

While for cooperatives of the total milk procured 60% is consumed in fluid form and rest is

used for manufacturing processed value added dairy products; for private dairies only 45% is

marketed in fluid form and rest is processed into value added dairy products like ghee,

makhan etc.

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 Still, several consumers in urban areas prefer to buy loose milk from vendors due to

the strong perception that loose milk is fresh. Also, the current level of processing and

packaging capacity limits the availability of packaged milk.

The preferred dairy animal in India is buffalo unlike the majority of the world market,

which is dominated by cow milk. As high as 98% of milk is produced in rural India, which

caters to 72% of the total population, whereas the urban sector with 28% population

consumes 56% of total milk produced. Even in urban India, as high as 83% of the consumed

milk comes from the unorganized traditional sector.

Presently only 12% of the milk market is represented by packaged and branded

pasteurized milk, valued at about Rs.8, 000 crores. Quality of milk sold by unorganized

sector however is inconsistent and so is the price across the season in local areas. Also these

vendors add water and caustic soda, which makes the milk unhygienic.

Market Size and Growth

Market size for milk (sold in loose/ packaged form) is estimated to be 36mn MT valued at

Rs470bn. The market is currently growing at round 4% pa in volume terms. The milk surplus

states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra

Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The manufacturing of milk products is concentrated in

these milk surplus States. The top 6 states viz. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat together account for 58% of national production.

Milk production grew by a mere 1% pa between 1947 and 1970. Since the early 70's,

under Operation Flood, production growth increased significantly averaging over 5% pa.

About 75% of milk is consumed at the household level which is not a part of

commercial dairy industry. Loose milk has a larger market in India as it is perceived to be

6
fresh by most consumers. In reality however, it poses a higher risk of adulteration and

contamination.

The production of milk products, i.e. milk products including infant milk food, malted

food, condensed milk & cheese stood at 3.07 lakh MT in 2008. Production of milk powder

including infant milk-food has risen to 2.25 lakh MT in 2008, whereas that of malted food is

at 65000 MT. Cheese and condensed milk production stands at 5000 and 11000 MT

respectively in the same year.

Major Players

The packaged milk segment is dominated by the dairy cooperatives. Gujarat Co-operative

Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is the largest player. All other local dairy cooperatives

have their local brands (For e.g. Gokul, Warana in Maharashtra, Saras in Rajasthan, Verka in

Punjab, Vijaya in Andhra Pradesh, Aavin in Tamil Nadu, etc). Other private players include J

K Dairy, Heritage Foods, Indiana Dairy, Dairy Specialties, etc. Amrut Industries, once a

leading player in the sector has turned bankrupt and is facing liquidation.

Packaging Technology

Milk was initially sold door-to-door by the local milkman. When the dairy co-

operatives initially started marketing branded milk, it was sold in glass bottles sealed with

foil. Over the years, several developments in packaging media have taken place. In the early

80's, plastic pouches replaced the bottles. Plastic pouches made transportation and storage

very convenient, besides reducing costs. Milk packed in plastic pouches/bottles have a shelf

life of just 1-2 days, that too only if refrigerated. In 1996, Tetra Packs were introduced in

India. Tetra Packs are aseptic laminate packs made of aluminum, paper, board and plastic.

Milk stored in tetra packs

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and treated under Ultra High Temperature (UHT) technique can be stored for four months

without refrigeration. Most of the dairy co-operatives in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,

Punjab

and Rajasthan sell milk in tetra packs. However tetra packed milk is costlier by Rs5-7

compared to plastic pouches. In 2008-00 Nestle launched its UHT milk. Amul too relaunched

its Amul Taaza brand of UHT milk. The UHT milk market is expected to grow at a rate of

more than 10-12% in coming years.

Regulatory Framework

The dairy industry was de-licensed in 1991 with a view to encourage private

investment and flow of capital and new technology in the segment. Although de-licensing

attracted a large number of players, concerns on issues like excess capacity, sale of

contaminated/ substandard quality of milk etc induced the Government to promulgate the

MMPO (Milk and Milk Products Order) in 2008. Milk and Milk Products Order (MMPO)

regulates milk and milk products production in the country. The order requires no permission

for units handling less than 10,000 litres of liquid milk per day or milk solids up to 500 TPA.

MMPO prescribes State registration to plants producing between 10,000 to 75,000 litres of

milk per day or manufacturing milk products containing between 500 to 3,750 tones of milk

solids per year. Plants producing over 75,000 litres per day or more than 3,750 tones per year

of milk solids have to be registered with the Central Government. The stringent regulations,

government controls and licensing requirements for new capacities have restricted large

Indian and MNC players from making significant investments in this product category. Most

of the private sector players have restricted themselves to manufacture of value added milk

products like baby food, dairy whiteners, condensed milk etc.

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 All the milk products except malted foods are covered in the category of industries for

which foreign equity participation up to 51% is automatically allowed. Ice cream, which was

earlier reserved for manufacturing in the small-scale sector, has now been de-reserved. As

such, no license is required for setting up of large-scale production facilities for manufacture

of ice cream.

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 Subsequent to de-canalization, exports of some milk based products are freely

allowed provided these units comply with the compulsory inspection requirements of

concerned agencies like: National Dairy Development Board, Export Inspection Council etc.

Bureau of Indian standards has prescribed the necessary standards for almost all milk-based

products, which are to be adhered to by the industry.

Proposal to Amend the MMPO

A proposal to raise the exemption limit for compulsory registration of dairy plants,

from the present 10,000 litres a day to 20,000 litres, is being considered by the Animal

Husbandry Department. The 75,000-litre limit is likely to be raised either to 100,000 litres or

125,000 litres in the amended order. The new order would also do away with the provision

for re-registration.

Penetration of milk products

Western table spreads such as butter, margarine and jams are not very popular in

India. All India penetration of butter/ margarine is only 4%. This is also largely represented

by urban areas, where penetration is higher at 9%. In rural areas, butter/ margarine have

penetrated in 2.1% of households only. The use of these products in the large metros is

higher, with penetration at 15%.

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 Penetration of cheese is almost nil in rural areas and negligible in the urban areas. Per

capita consumption even among the cheese-consuming households is a poor 2.4kg pa as

compared to over 20kg in USA. The lower penetration is due to peculiar food habits,

relatively expensive products and also non-availability in many parts of the country. Butter,

margarine and cheese products are mainly manufactured by organized sector.

Similarly, penetration of ghee is highest in medium sized towns at 37.2% compared to

31.7% in all urban areas and 21.3% in all rural areas. The all India penetration of ghee is

24.1%. In relative terms, penetration of ghee is significantly higher in North and West, which

are milk surplus regions. North accounts for 57% of ghee consumption and West for 23%,

South & East together account for the balance 20%. A large part of ghee is made at home and

by small/ cottage industry from milk. The relative share of branded products in this category

is very low at around 1-2%.

Milk powder and condensed milk have not been able to garner any significant

consumer acceptance in India as indicated by a very low 4.7% penetration. The penetration is

higher at

8.1% in urban areas and lower at 3.5% in rural areas. Within urban areas, it is relatively

higher in medium sized towns at 8.5% compared to 7.7% in large metros.

Export Potential

India has the potential to become one of the leading players in milk and milk product

exports. Location advantage: India is located amidst major milk deficit countries in Asia and

Africa. Major importers of milk and milk products are Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong,

Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, UAE, Oman and other gulf countries, all

located close to India.

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The major export products: - The products of Amul is being exported in the 40 countries

of the world . Many of the products are now available in the U.S.A , Gulf countries and

Singapore. Amul products are being exported to the Singapore since last three decades .

undoubtedly , Amul is the preferred taste of Indians in the Gulf countries.

Low Cost of Production:

Milk production is scale insensitive and labour intensive. Due to low labour cost, cost of

production of milk is significantly lower in India.

Concerns in export competitiveness are Quality: Significant investment has to be

made in milk procurement, equipments, chilling and refrigeration facilities. Also, training has

to be imparted to improve the quality to bring it up to international standards.

Productivity: To have an exportable surplus in the long-term and also to maintain cost

competitiveness, it is imperative to improve productivity of Indian cattle.

There is a vast market for the export of traditional milk products such as ghee, paneer,

shrikhand, rasagulas and other ethnic sweets to the large number of Indians scattered all over

the world.

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India's exports of milk products

Description 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

(Quantity, M T.: Value,

Rs. million)

Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value

Skimmed milk powder 4,638.62 3,35.32 282.70 19.64 5.00 0.375

Milk and Milk Food for 8.27 2.019 111.37 4.27 11.00 2.02

babies

Milk cream 332.23 28.04 1.00 0.084 - -

Sweetened condensed 41.73 2.84 9.22 0.97 60.39 7.22

milk

Whey 78.46 3.75 11.50 1.01 6.00 0.342

Ghee/Butter/Butter oil 7,895.08 431.1 299.97 19.2 4,352.08 2,38.95

Cheese

(a) Fresh 0.10 0.013 - - - -

(b) Processed 5.67 1.20 2.1 0.375 22.10 2.19

(c) Other 66.64 8.35 36.78 0.69 24.84 4.55

TOTAL - 8,72.7 - 52.4 - 2,55.6

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Indian (traditional) Milk Products

There are a large variety of traditional Indian milk products such as

Makkhan - unsalted butter. Ghee - butter oil prepared by heat clarification, for longer shelf

life. Kheer - a sweet mix of boiled milk, sugar and rice. Basundi - milk and sugar boiled

down till it thickens. Rabri - sweetened cream. Dahi - a type of curd. Lassi - curd mixed with

water and sugar/ salt. Channa/Paneer - milk mixed with lactic acid to coagulate. Khoa -

evaporated milk, used as a base to produce sweet meats. The market for indigenous based

milk food products is difficult to estimate as most of these products are manufactured at

home or in small cottage industries catering to local areas.

Consumers while purchasing dairy products look for freshness, quality, taste and texture,

variety and convenience. Products like Dahi and sweets like Kheer, Basundi, Rabri are

perishable products with a shelf life of less than a day. These products are therefore

manufactured and sold by local milk and sweet shops. There are several such small shops

within the vicinity of residential areas. Consumer loyalty is built by consistent quality, taste

and freshness. There are several sweetmeat shops, which have built a strong brand franchise,

and have several branches located in various parts of a city.

Branding Of Traditional Milk Products

Among the traditional milk products, ghee is the only product, which is currently marketed,

in branded form. main ghee brands are Sagar, Milkman (Britannia), Amul (GCMMF), Aarey

14
(Mafco Ltd), Vijaya (AP Dairy Development Cooperative Federation), Verka ( Punjab Dairy

Cooperative), Everyday (Nestle) and Farm Fresh (Wockhardt).

With increasing urbanization and changing consumer preferences, there is possibility

of large scale manufacture of indigenous milk products also. The equipments in milk

manufacturing have versatility and can be adapted for several products. For instance,

equipments used to manufacture yogurt also can be adapted for large scale production of

Indian curd products (dahi and lassi). Significant research work has been done on dairy

equipments under the aegis of NDDB.

Mafco Limited sells Lassi under the Aarey brand and flavored milk under the Energee

franchise (in the Western region, mainly in Mumbai). Britannia has launched flavored milk in

various flavors in tetra packs.

GCMMF has also made a beginning in branding of other traditional milk products

with the launch of packaged Paneer under the Amul brand. It has also created a new umbrella

brand "Amul Mithaee", for a range of ethnic Indian sweets that are proposed to be launched

the first new product Amul Mithaee Gulabjamun has already been launched in major Indian

markets.

Western Milk Products

Western milk products such as butter, cheese, yogurt have gained popularity in the Indian

market only during the last few years. However consumption has been expanding with

increasing urbanization.

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16
Butter

Most Indians prefer to use home made white butter (makkhan) for reasons of taste and

affordability. Most of the branded butter is sold in the towns and cities. The major brands are

Amul, Vijaya, Sagar, Nandini and Aarey. Amul is the leading national brand while the other

players have greater shares in their local markets. The latest entrant in the butter market has

been Britannia. Britannia has the advantages of a wide distribution reach and a strong brand

recall.

Priced at par with the Amul brand, it is expected to give stiff competition to the existing

players. In 2008-00 the butter production is estimated at 4 lakh MT of this only 45K MT is in

the white form used for table purposes rest all is in the yellow form.

Cheese

The present market for cheese in India is estimated at about 9,000 tonnes and is growing at

the rate of about 15% per annum. Cheese is mainly consumed in the urban areas. The four

metro cities alone account for more than 50% of consumption. Mumbai is the largest market

(accounting for 30% of cheese sold in the country), followed by Delhi (20%). Calcutta (7%)

and Chennai (6%). Mumbai has a larger number of domestic consumers, compared to Delhi

where the bulk institutional segment (mainly hotels) is larger.

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Demand for various types of cheese in the Indian market

Type of cheese % of total consumption

Processed 50

Cheese spread 30

Mozzarella 10

Flavored/Spiced 5

Others 5

The major players are Amul, Britannia, and Dabon International dominating the market.

Other major brands were Vijaya, Verka and Nandini (all brands of various regional dairy

cooperatives) and Vadilal. The heavy advertising and promotions being undertaken by these

new entrants is expected to lead to strong 20% growth in the segment. Amul has also become

more aggressive with launch of new variants such as Mozzarella cheese (used in Pizza),

cheese powder, etc.

The entry of new players and increased marketing activity is expected to expand the market.

All the major players are expanding their capacities

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Capacity expansion in Cheese

Company Brands State Capacity

Dynamics Group Manufactures for Britannia Maharashtra 35 tons per day

GCMMF Amul Gujarat 20 tons per day

APDDCF Vijaya Andhra Pradesh 10 tons per day

Milk Powder

Milk powder is mainly of 2 types

_ Whole milk powder

_ Skimmed milk powder

Whole milk powder contains fat, as distinguished from skimmed milk powder, which is

produced by removing fat from milk solids. Skimmed milk powder is preferred by diet

conscious consumers. Dairy whiteners contain more fat than skimmed milk powder but less

compared to whole milk powder. Dairy whiteners are popular milk substitute for making tea,

coffee etc.

The penetration of these products in milk abundant regions is driven by convenience

and non perishable nature (longer shelf life) of the product.

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 Dairy sector of advanced nations export milk products with a subsidy of $ 1000 per

tones with a level of subsidy more than 60 % of the price of milk powder produced in India,

this has led to large scale imports of milk powder both in whole and skimmed form. To

protect the domestic sector from these subsidized imports the central government has recently

increased the basic import duty on all imports of milk powder more than 10000 MT to 60%

from 15%. For imports less than 10000 MT the basic customs duty has been left unchanged

at 15%.

In 2008 India is estimated to have imported about 18,000 tonnes of milk powder against a

total estimated production of 2.40 Lakh MTs. In 2007-08 India is expected to export 10000

MT of skimmed milk powder due to rise in international prices to $2300 per MT from last

year's levels of $1400 per MT. These expectations are based on the strong demand from

Russia, East Asia and Latin America, and also on tightening of supply in EU, which accounts

for 75% of the annual global Skimmed Milk Powder exports.

Milk Collection Cycle

The success of each and every dairy industry is the getting the milk from the farmers
and making that milk in use as soon as possible before that milk get spoiled because the milk
is the perishable product. For the smooth running the business of dairy industry the industry
must concentrate on the milk collection cycle. Amul dairy is very conscious about the milk
collection cycle because the base of the success of the Amul is milk collection cycle.

Production capacity of Amul

 Butter 50 to 60 Tones
 Powder plant 70 tones
 Powder plant 60 tones
 Flavour milk 40000 bottles

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Major Players

Milk Powder/Dairy Whiteners: Major skimmed milk brands are Sagar (GCMMF) and

Nandini (Karnataka Milk Federation), Amul Full Cream milk powder is a whole milk powder

brand.

Leading brands in the dairy whitener segment are Nestlé’s Everyday, GCMMF's Amulya,

Dalmia Industry's Sapan, Kwality Dairy India's KreamKountry, Wockhardt's Farm Fresh and

Britannia's Milkman Dairy Whitener.

Condensed Milk

The condensed milk market has grown from 9000 MT in 2007 to 11000 MT in 2008.

Condensed milk is a popular ingredient used in home-made sweets and cakes. Nestlé’s

Milkmaid is the leading brand with more than 55% market share. The only other competitor

is GCMMF's Amul.

Infant Foods

Nestle is the market leader in the segment. This is a category where brand loyalties are very

strong as mothers want the best for their babies. Heinz is the only other significant competitor

to Nestle in this segment. Nestlé’s Cerelac and Nestum together have around 80% market

share and Heinz's Farex has close to 18% share. Work hard is a relatively new entrant with its

First Food brand. Wockhardt also proposes to launch a new baby food Easum containing

moong (moong is one of the easily digestible pulses). The Easum brand will directly compete

with Nestle's Nestum (made from rice).

In infant formula also Nestle's Lactogen formula and Lactogen standard formula are

the leading brands with around 75% market share. Other brands are Heinz's Lactodex Farex,

Wockhardt's *Raptakos, and Amul's Amulspray

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Major dairy products manufacturers

Some of the major dairy products manufacturers in the country:

Company Brands Major Products

Nestle India Limited Milkmaid, Cerelac, Sweetened condensed milk, malted

Lactogen, Milo, foods, milk powder and Dairy

Everyday whitener

Milk food Limited Milk food Ghee, ice cream, and other milk

products

Smith Kline Horlicks, Maltova, Viva Malted Milk food, ghee, butter,

Beecham Limited powdered milk, milk fluid and other

milk based baby foods.

Indodan Industries Indana Condensed milk, skimmed milk

Limited powder, whole milk powder, dairy

milk whitener, chilled and processed

milk

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Gujarat Co- Amul Butter, cheese and other milk

operative milk products

Marketing

Federation Limited

H.J. Heinz Limited Farex, Complan, Infant Milkfood, malted Milkfood

Glactose, Bonniemix,

Vitamilk

Britannia Milkman Flavored milk, cheese, Milk Powder,

Ghee

Cadbury Bournvita Malted food

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives duly formulated for the study are as follows:

 To study the need and desire of consumers regarding the consumption of baby

food To study the reasons for selecting the particular brand by the respondents

and to find out

 major brands available in the market.

 To identify the factors determining the satisfaction and measure their level of

satisfaction.

 To find out the motivational factors to buy baby food and to find out the

marketing tools and' techniques used by. the companies to capture the market.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Food is an important component of health care for infants, For this parents always try to

give their baby nutritious food. Due to lack of time, home-prepared foods cannot be given to

the children always by the parents. So they go for tinned foods available in the markets. The

parents prefer tinned food not only for quality but also for some additional nutrients provided

by the manufacturers. Hence at this point, it is essential to study the consumer's behaviour

towards baby food and the factors determining their satisfaction. Several firms' had been

engaging in production and marketing of instant food products. Hence, the consumers had

greater options to choose from. Understanding the consumer behaviour would help the firms

in formulating strategies to cater to the needs of the consumer and thereby increase their

market share. Consumer's taste and preference were found to change rapidly, especially in a

dynamic environment. In this context, a study on consumer behaviour was deemed to be

important to understand the buying behaviour and preferences of different consumers.

24
METHODOLOGY AND TOOLS

The study is confined to Coimbatore town. The present study used both primary as well as

secondary data. Field survey technique was employed to collect the primary data from the

250 selected sample respondents through direct interview method at Coimbatore Town. For

analyzing the data, simple statistical tools like Percentage analysis, Chi-square analysis,

ANOVA, Mean, Mode, Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient, Regression analysis and

time series analysis were used.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 The area of study is restricted to Coimbatore town.

 The number of respondents in the study is limited to 250.

 The accuracy of the study depends on the data provided by the respondents.

 The respondents views and opinions may vary in future.

 This study was based on primary data collected from sample consumers by survey

method.

 As many of the consumers furnished the required information from their memory and

 experience, the collected data would be subject to recall bias.

 The findings of the study may be considered appropriate for the situations similar to

 study area and extra care should be taken while generalizing the results.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Adys Sharma (2009) in his study entitled "Rote and Influence of Children in Buying

Children's Apparel" has revealed that the size of the family or the gender of children in

family affect the buying behavior in any way.

Debra Harker, Bishnu Sharma, Michael Harker and Karin Reinhard (2009) in their

study "Leaving Home: Food Choice Behaviour of Young German Adults" reported that

health consciousness, weight concern and attitude towards healthy eating are the significant

predictors of fruit consumption, however natural content, weight concern are the significant

predictors of vegetable consumption.

in control fruit. These results suggest that the treatment of tomatoes and sweet peppers

with MeJA or MeSA induces the synthesis of some stress proteins, such as HSP, PR-

proteins, and AOX, which leads to increased chilling tolerance and resistance to decay(Wang,

Fung and Ding, 2005).Stomata of red hot chilli monitored under scanning electron

microscopy. Stomata apertures observed only at the pedicel surface and were absolutely

absent on the fruit surface. Hydro-cooled chilli at 0 and 2C resulted in significantly closing

stomata while the same process at 4C was only partially closing them as compared to

untreated. The darkening was significantly reduced by hydro-cooling whereas slightly

decreased by forced-air cooling. These results suggest that hydro-cooling is a suitable

technique for keeping the quality of red hot chili after harvest (Taksinamaneeat el., 2006)[a].

Exporting of fresh chilli faces a big problem especially the darkening at

pedicel.Chillies hydro-cooled at 0C were packed in plastic tray wrapped with 15 μm

polyvinylchloride (PVC) film, 70 µm polyethylene (PE) bag and shell clam PE box then

stored at 5ºC. Hydro-cooled chilli and packed in plastic packaging maintained the fruit

firmness higher than control. However, there were no consistency patterns of changes

inaccurate peroxidise activity during storage of red hot chilli in each treatment. Theoverall

26
quality of red hot chilli was highest in hydro-cooled chilli kept in shall clam PE box

(Taksinamanee et al ., 2006) [b]

.If red sweet peppers (Capsicum annuumL.) stored for 21 days packaged in

lowdensity polyethylene (LDPE), unpackaged and hot water dipping (53C for 4 min.) then

packaged in low density polyethylene. HWD and packaged treatments were performed best

as compared to unpackaged one. The weight loss was less than 1 % in packaged and10 % in

unpackaged. HWD had no significant effect on the quality of fruits (Raffo et al .,2006).

The harvested tomatoes were stored at 7, 15 and 25C, for a period of 10 days.The

soluble phenolics and ascorbic acid contents of tomatoes showed slight increasesduring

storage, regardless of temperature. The mean lycopene content of tomatoes storedat 15 and

25C on the 10th day of storage was, approximately, 2-fold (7.5 mg/100 g) thanof the

tomatoes stored at 7C (3.2 mg/100 g). The soluble antioxidant activity increasedfrom 17–

27% during the storage period of tomatoes (Ramandeep and Geoffrey, 2006)

Peppers harvested at green stage and stored at 22C for only 10 days. If harvestedat

green ripe stage and stored at 22C, they stored for only 5 days. Green ripe fruitsstored at 7C

in perforated polyethylene bags maintained their shelf life for 20 days.Result indicated that

optimum ripeness stage for harvest was green ripe as the peppersdevelop enhanced quality

characteristics at this stage (Gonzálezet al ., 2005).

There are no data for ( Xanthomonas vesicatoria) and (Vermicularia capsici)

but provided that CO2is absent, the growth of other organism is suppressed by [O2] present

in7-13C water saturated air at pressure of 2.0-2.7 kPa.This low pressure range should be

tested at non-chilling temperature as high as12-13C to determine if decay in peppers can be

controlled without causing low-[O2] or low-temperature injury. Peppers tolerated a 2-day

exposure to a pressure of 2.67 kPa at10C with no adverse effects (Burg, 2004),

27
 but longer exposureThe storage of peppers was improved by treatments that restrict

water loss,including pre-packaging in perforated polyethylene, modified atmospheric

packaging andwaxing (Hughesel al., 1981; Hardenburet al., 1986).

Packaging system was used to compare the atmospheric composition withinsealed

packs containing tomato fruits. The films used were 20 micron (PE20) and 50micron (PE50)

polyethylene, 10 micron polyvinylcholoride (PVC) and 25 micron polypropylene (PP)

compared with unwrapped fruit as a control. Sealed packaging,especially using with PE50

and PP films, delayed the development of the red color of tomatoes until 30 days of storage

and those tomatoes were also still very firm even after 60 days of storage. Tomatoes sealed

within PE50 and PP films had also the lowest weightloss and the highest soluble solids after

60 days of storage (Batu and Thompson, 1998).

Control atmospheres containing 2-5% oxygen and 10% carbon dioxide slightlyextend

storage life. Less than 2% oxygen causes low carbon dioxide damage, and morethan 2-10%

carbon dioxide eventually causes calyx discoloration (Hattonel al., 1975;Dilley, 1978;

Leshuk and Saltveit, 1990).

Bell pepper (C. annuumL.) at three maturation stages, were evaluated sensorilyon

flavor attributes. Green bell peppers scored mainly on the attributes bitterness, grassyand

green bell pepper aroma, whereas the attributes sweetness, sourness, and red bell pepper

aroma were distinctive for the red ones. Sugars and organic acids were determined by high

performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); fructose, glucose, total sugar, anddry matter

content were related to the attribute sweetness in the red maturation stage.Citric and ascorbic

acid, as well as calculated concentrations of undissociated ascorbicand dissociated citric 1

and citric 2, showed close relationships with the attributesourness. Moreover, pH and HPLC

concentrations of malic, oxalic, fumaric, and pyroglutamic acid and calculated contents of

dissociated malic 2, pyroglutamic 1, andoxalic 2 appeared to be negatively related with

28
sourness (Luninget al., 1994).The main post harvest storage diseases of peppers are alternaria

rot ( Alternariatenuis), anthracnose (Collectrotricum gloeosporioides), bacterial soft rot (

Erwiniacarotovora), Cladosporium rot (Collectrotricum herbarum), grey mould rot (

Botrytiscinerea), bacterial spot ( Xanthomonos versicatoria), phoma rot (Phoma

destructor),sunken spot (Vermicularia capsici) and rhizopus rot ( Rhizopus stolonifer )

(McCollochet al., 1966; Ryall and Lipton, 1972; Eckertet al., 1975; Hardenburget al., 1986).

Chilling damage occurs below 7C (Hardenburget al., 1986), and sometimes atless

than 11.1-12.8C (Pushka and Srivastava, 1963). Chilling damage occurred at 7oC inlow

pressure (LP), but only became apparent 1-2 days after peppers were removed(Burge, 1976a).

No benefit resulted when pepper cultivar ‘Bellboy’ was stored at 8.8C incontrolled

atmospheric storage at 2% [O2] supplemented with 0, 3, 6 or 9% [CO2], or inLP at 20.3, 10.1

and 5.1 kPa, (Hugheset al ., 1981).

Normal atmospheric storage was compared to low pressure storage at pressure of 2.0,

5.3 and 10.7 Kpa. Peppers stored in normal atmospheric storage were pre-treatedwith

chlorine and/or Benlate; the remainder and all peppers stored in low pressure storagewere

untreated and unwaxed. After 50 days, the percentage of saleable peppers was 80%at 5.3 kPa,

87% at 5.3-10.7 kPa, 47% at 2 kPa respectively; and none in normalatmospheric storage

regardless of the pre-treatment (Jamieson, 1980).Direct relationship was found between

ascorbic acid content and capsicummaturity. Total pigment contents increased between two

and seventy fold as the result of transition from the immature to the fully ripe condition

(Rahman et al 1978).

29
 The storage temperature was not specified. Excellent results with peppers stored9

at 10.13 kPa (76 mm Hg) were reported by Staby (1976a).Low pressure storage was limited

by decay. Respiration was reduced by as muchas 67-75% at low pressure storage (Bangerth,

1974).Peppers began to deteriorate after 16 days in normal atmosphere were in poor

condition by 21 days. Those kept at a pressure of 10.7 kPa were still in excellentconditions

after 28 days, while at 6.7 and 16.0 kPa they were only in fair condition.Peppers were

marketable with excellent taste and quality after 46 days in low pressurestorage at 10.7 kPa,

except for a trace of mould, which appeared on stem ends. Storagewas limited by decay. A

chlorine rinse prior to storage reduced the incidence of decay anda Benlate dip was effective

for up to 7 weeks during low pressure storage. Storage of peppers in normal atmosphere and

in low pressure storage at a pressure of 10 kPa wascompared during a 23-day test at 10-12

C. The peppers remained firmer and greener inlow pressure with slightly higher ascorbic acid

contents and significantly lower ethylene production (Bangerth, 1973).

Non-waxed peppers were stored at 7.2C either in normalatmosphere or in low

pressure storage at pressure of 6.7, 10.7or 16.0 kPa (Burg, 1970).Ripening limits the normal

atmosphere (NA) storage of green peppers at 7.2-10C for 2-3 weeks which is very good time

to transport the green chillies for distant marketwithin the country and abroad (Lutz and

Hardenburg, 1968).

At atmospheric pressure, film wrapping reduced wastage, mainly due to lesswater

loss, while storage in 2% [O2] + 6% [CO2] resulted in a significant increase indecay during

subsequent shelf life at 20C. Weight loss in LP was at least five timeshigher per day

compared to normal atmosphere, and 7-10 times greater than that neededto remove

respiratory heat by evaporative cooling indicated that the humidity was not properly

maintained in this low pressure storage study.

30
1.1 What is your profession?

A. General Practitioner

B. Practice Nurse

C. Public Health Nurse

D. Dietitian

1.2 How many years have you been working in your present professional role?

A. 0-5

B. 6-10

C. 11-15

D. 16 – 20

E. 21-25

F. over 26

1.3 What is your gender?

A. Male

B. Female

1.4 Were you trained for your present professional role in Ireland?

A. Yes

B. No

31
1.5 Have you worked in your present professional role in any country other than in

Ireland?

A. Yes

B. No

If yes, which country? ….............................................

1.6 Are you a parent?

A. Yes

B. No

1.7 How were your children fed as in the first six weeks of life? Not Applicable

A. Breastfed

B. Formula-fed

C. Mixed breast- and formula-fed

1.8 When did you introduce solid foods with your own children? Not Applicable

A. 1st child, age in weeks

B. 2nd child, age in weeks

C. 3rd child, age in weeks

D. 4th child, age in weeks

32
1.9 What was the first solid food you offered your own children? Not Applicable

A. 1st child …………………….

B. 2nd child …………………….

C. 3rd child …………………….

D. 4th child ……………………..

1.10 Please tick how you feel about the statement: “My personal experience of weaning

influences the advice I give to parents” Not Applicable

A. Strongly Agree

B. Agree

C. Neither Agree nor Disagree

D. Disagree

E. Strongly Disagree

Do you consider that discussing weaning is part of your professional role?

2.1 Do you consider that discussing weaning is part of your professional role? No, it is

not part of my role

A. Yes, I routinely raise the topic

B. Yes, but only if a parent asks

C. Yes, if parents are referred to me for weaning advice

33
2.2 How many times a week would you typically discuss weaning?

A. Rarely

B. 0-5 times

C. 6-10 times 

D. 11- more times

2.3 Who or what do you believe most influences a first-time mother regarding the

introduction of solid foods?

A. Her partner 

B. Her friends

C. Her mother 

D. Books

E. Her family

F. Internet

G. Other………………….

2.4 At which infant age or surgery, clinic or home visit do you usually discuss weaning?

A. I never discuss weaning

B. Soon after birth

C. 2 weeks

D. 6 weeks 

E. 2 months

F. 3 months

G. 4 months

H. Other

34
 2.5 Who do you most usually advise or discuss weaning with?

A. I never discuss weaning

B. Mother

C. Father

D. Other family member

E. Don’t know

2.6 Do you usually advise or discuss weaning with each baby or just first-time?

A. I never discuss weaning

B. First baby

C. Each baby

2.7 Would you like to have a specific visit or consultation to discuss weaning?

A. Yes

B. No

2.8 Are you aware of any published official national guidelines regarding weaning?

A. Yes

B. No

If yes, please specify name of publication ………………………………………..

2.9Name any weaning or complementary infant feeding literature you give to parents I

never discuss weaning

35
 The literature I give is ……….…….………………………….

…………………………………………

2.10 At what approximate age (infant’s age in weeks) do you recommend solid foods be

introduced?

A. Age in weeks for a baby who is exclusively breastfed? Minimum?

B. Age in weeks for baby who is formula-fed? Minimum?

C. Age in weeks for a baby who is mixed milk feeding (breastfed and formula-fed)?

Minimum?

2.11What factors other than the baby’s age do you consider when giving advice about when

to start weaning?

A. I never discuss weaning

B. Baby’s birth weight

C. Baby’s current weight

D. Baby’s velocity of weight gain

E. Crossing of centile lines

F. Baby waking at night

G. Baby taking large volumes of formula

H. Reflux in the baby

I. Baby’s frequency of feeding

J. Baby’s crying

K. Baby’s head control

L. Baby’s sex

36
 M. Family’s medical history

N. Family’s ethnicity/culture

O. Mother’s wishes

P. Other

……………………………………….

2.12 At what age do you recommend cup-feeding be introduced? I never discuss cup-

feeding Infant’s age in weeks

2.13 What do you say to parents to about commercial baby foods? I never discuss weaning

A. Convenient

B. Expensive

C. Nutritious

D. Use family foods

E. Ok to use in moderation

F. Other…………………..

2.14Do you use a centile chart to plot baby’s weight?

A. Yes

B. No

If yes, please specify which chart

………………………………….

37
2.15 Do you recommend vitamin supplementation for infants?

A. Yes

B. No

If yes, please specify what and when

…………………………………….

2.16 What food type do you suggest might be introduced as a first food? I never discuss

weaning

A. Cereals

B. Fruits

C. Vegetables

D. Meat

E. Eggs

F. Rusks

G. Other…………………..

2.17 For each of these foods, what approximate infant’s age (in weeks) do you suggest to

parents that these foods may be introduced?

I never discuss weaning

A. Wheat-based cereals

B. Rice-based cereals

C. Pasteurised Cow’s milk

D. Red meat

E. Poultry

38
 F. Fish

G. Eggs

H. Yoghurt

I. Honey

J. Fruit

K. Vegetables

L. Nuts Rusks

2.18 Do you consider there to be health risks from weaning early?

A. Yes

B. No

C. Don’t know

If yes, please specify risks

……………………………………

2.19 Do you consider there to be health risks from weaning late?

A. Yes

B. No

C. Don’t know

If yes, please specify risks

……………………………………

39
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