Familiarizing Food: Frozen Food Chains, Technology, and Consumer Trust, Norway 1940–1970

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between food chains and the production of consumer trust through cases drawn from the introduction of frozen fish fillets in Norway. Specifically, it will discuss how the frozen fish industry worked to create consumer trust in this new food product despite initial skepticism. Conventional ways of building trust such as quality control systems, branding, and marketing are investigated, but in addition to these mechanisms, the article discusses how the frozen fish industry utilized a range of more mundane technologies as trust-producing technologies. By investigating this effort, the article argues that technology is a valuable lens for understanding how consumers are familiarized with new foods.