Abstract

This article analyzes the perception of the consumer regarding the processes of certification and quality of apples at the time of purchase. Quality attributes and consumer’s behavior are discussed based on the Economic of Conventions. A field survey was carried out in four supermarkets in the city of Santa Maria (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) to obtain information on the level of consumer knowledge about certification and the attributes considered as relevant at the moment of purchase. The results show that consumers do not prioritize at issues related to certification in the purchase of apples and classify their level of knowledge as low. It was concluded that the known information about certification and other characteristics of the apple are less relevant to the consumer reality studied, if compared to market aspects, such as price.