This study aimed to assess the behavior of the consumer in relation to pork and pork products. Four hundred and one consumers, men and women over 19 years old, were randomly sampled from the residents of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, to supply information about pork and pork products consumption, besides school background, occupation and family income. Consumption of fresh pork was directly affected by concepts related to health. The consumers considered pork eating dangerous to health due to an excess of fat, high level of cholesterol and the possibility of diseases transmission. The results suggest that population, even worried about the concepts of healthy and safety feeding, do not know the meaning and the function of the programs of meat quality and origin certification. The importance of the trademarks, which provide reliability and quality of the product, was emphasized. In order to create a program on the certification of pork and pork products in the State of Minas Gerais, it is necessary to run an effective campaign against the pork prejudice.
pork; consumer behavior
