Quail egg consumption: patterns, preferences and perceptions among consumers in Galle district, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Owing to the changing life style and food availability, Quail egg is being used as analternate

potential and acceptable egg source in many parts of the world. Regular consumption of quail

eggs helps fight against some diseases such as digestive tract disorders, tuberculosis, asthma,

diabetes and stomach ulcers, strengthen the immune system, promote memory health, increase

brain activity and stabilize the nervous system. Nutritional value of quail eggs is higher than

those offered by other eggs and contain high amount of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins

and less amount of cholesterol (Tanasornet al.,2013).Compared to chicken eggs, there is a

limited body of scholarly literature in related to consumer behavior of quail eggs. Most

literature to do with quails and their eggs has focused on production and processing issues,

not consumer market studies. Therefore, present study was aimed to determine the quail egg

consumption patterns, preferences and perception among consumers in Galle district, Sri

Lanka.

Methodology

Ten Divisional secretariats (Akmeemana, Ambalangoda, Baddegama, Balapitiya, Bope-

poddala, Elpitiya, Galle four gravates, Habaraduwa, Thawalama and Yakkalamulla) in Galle

districts were purposively selected as the research area. 200 consumers, who toured to local

markets

and

supermarkets

in

those

areas

were

purposively

selected

and

interviewed.Information related to consumers’ age, sex, education, occupation, income,

consumption pattern and attitude towards quail eggs were collected using a pre-tested

questionnaire with havingboth open and closed form questions. Primary data were processed

and analyzed using the Microsoft Office Excel (2003) and SPSS 20 package. The association

between demographic data and egg consumption pattern was tested using chi square, with a

p-value of less than 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Result and Discussion

As to present study produced data it is revealed that majority of the respondents (57%) did not

consumed quail eggs, while 43% consumed. Table 01, shows the relationship between demographic data with the quail egg consumption. These demographic indices did not

significantly (p>0.05) influence the quail egg consumption, except gender, with female

respondents consuming less eggs. Findings of the study is revealed that purchasing frequency

is not satisfied, because most of the respondents who consume quail eggs (81%) rarely

purchasedeggs every month. Most of them had purchased quail eggs once or twice during the

past year. Findings revealed, quail eggs were not a regular food item in their diet.

Boiled eggs were most preferred (61%) as egg serving method than any other preparations

(Figure 01). This can be expected because of the small size of quail eggs,it is inconvenient to

prepared comparing withother poultry eggs especially chicken eggs. Consumers had

purchased quail eggs from Food Cities (34%), from Farm shops (30%), from grocery stores

(20%) and directly from farms (11%). 5% of consumers had supplied quail eggs by home

production.