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The purpose of this paper is to examine how Norwegian consumers consider information during making the decision to buy and consume fish products.

Validated questionnaires, adapted based on a pre-study, were completed by Norwegian volunteers. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone and were at least 50 per cent responsible for the food in the household. The survey included questions about: first, use of and trust in information sources; second, use of and interest in information cues; third, objective and subjective knowledge; and fourth, fish consumption and buying behaviour.

The results of this study (n=713) led to three consumer segments: “Label trusters” (40 per cent), “Info skippers” (19 per cent) and “Info seekers” (41 per cent) with significant (p<0.001) differences in use of and trust in information sources and reactions to information cues. Particular needs of these clusters regarding product labelling were identified.

Increased product visibility and simplified product packaging with selective and targeted information for each consumer group will lead to a better differentiation of fish products in a competitive market and hence to an increased consumption of health-promoting fish by the Norwegian population.

This manuscript is one of the few that shows how particular types of labelling could be summarised, minimised or moved in order to reach potential consumers with a better presented product that carries information in more strategic placement than what one can find on current seafood packaging.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of information on English consumers' evaluation of fresh and thawed cod fillets which in English retail stores is referred to as “chilled” seafood.

After the exploration of consumers' impressions of thawed fish, this study followed a pair‐wise comparison approach in a central location consumer test. Fish fillets were evaluated on liking, smell and texture by means of a questionnaire with additional behavioural and attitudinal questions.

This study showed that consumers in England may prefer thawed over fresh cod fillets without information. However, consumers' evaluations increased for labelled fresh cod fillets and decreased for thawed. Finally, consumers reported positive expectations about fillets labelled “fresh” or “frozen at sea”.

This study involved testing cod fillets in a central location test. Consumers do not usually evaluate cod fillets in this way in their daily life. The quality of the two types of fillets made especially for this test may vary compared to the ones usually sold and consumed.

This study can inform producers and retailers about what to expect by means of sales of fresh and thawed cod products with or without information.

It was shown that consumers are positively influenced by information and are willing to consume more fish if they know that the fish is fresh or thawed properly.

This is the first paper to present English consumers' evaluations of thawed cod.