Despite the importance of beef to the national economy, its importance is not, however, reflected in the national diet. B eefs share of the overall market for fresh meat in Ireland has nearly halved in the past ten years (1986 - 1996). As yet no empirical work has been carried out in Ireland to examine the factors influencing this trend. This study explored the link between how Irish consumers perceived the quality of beef and how this perception affected past purchase behaviour of those who had decreased their consumption levels and those who had maintained them. The rationale for approaching the study of beef consumption from this perspective is supported by research which revealed that market share and profits are correlated with quality as perceived by the consumer. A review of the literature indeed found that many of the factors which have influenced consumers to reduce their red meat consumption were quality related. The methodology used by many of these studies was to directly ask respondents why they had reduced their consumption. The limitation of this technique is that respondents will attempt to rationalise their behaviour. In an attempt to overcome this limitation and uncover the underlying quality factors influencing consumption, a framework for analysing beef quality perception was choosen. The research used was part of a wider international multi-disciplinary EU funded project entitled ‘Meat Quality Policy and Consumer Behaviour’ involving six countries. Telephone interviews were carried out among 500 respondents who carried out most of the food purchases in the household. Questions of particular interest for the dissertation were related to perceptions of beef quality at: 1) the point of consumption; 2) the point of purchase; 3) prior to purchase. Multivariate data analysis techniques were used on the data to address the research question. Results revealed that the discriminating quality factors of safety and meat status explained only a small proportion of the difference between both groups. Explanations and suggestions for further research include the general re-examination of how quality concepts such health, safety and meat status are operationalised. In addition the social aspects of meat eating should be examined. In particular, the link between consumption patterns and the symbolic notions associated with meat.