How circular will you eat? The sustainability challenge in food and consumer reaction to either waste-to-value or yet underused novel ingredients in food

In the light of the sustainability challenge ahead, the food sector has to become more resource efficient. This includes moving towards a circularity approach in which by-products from production side-streams are re-inserted into the food chain. However, it is unclear how consumers react to food products based on ingredients previously wasted in the supply chain, or innovative food ingredients from yet underused production streams. The current study uses an experimental survey design to assess consumer attitude towards a plant-based cocoa drink among 491 Danish consumers of cocoa-flavoured drinks. In a between-subjects design, the product is first, either from the market leader in plant-based drinks or from an unfamiliar, non-Danish brand, second, contains either potato or grass protein, and third, is presented with or without communication on the sustainability benefit. The benefit consists of potato protein being from by-products previously wasted, and grass protein an innovative ingredient yet underused for food purpose. Attitude towards the new product is assessed relative to a soy based cocoa drink of the same brand. ANOVA results show a main effect of gender and brand and an interaction of ingredient with both brand and communication, respectively. For both grass and potato proteins, the unknown brand is relatively preferred – more pronounced for potato – and better liked by males. Communication improves attitude towards potato drink. Findings imply that brand- and product design-related differences play a role in determining attitude to products with such new ingredients. Consumers’ relatively lower attitude towards the potato ingredient can be alleviated by communication.     

Diagonal or vertical? An empirical study of the impact of food brand logo orientation on consumers’ food perception and food attitude

This study explores the role of food brand logo orientation on consumers’ perceptions and attitudes regarding food products through four studies. Study 1 examines the effects of food brand logo orientation (diagonal vs. vertical) on consumer perceptions of food tastiness and risk. The findings suggest that diagonal (vs. vertical) food brand logos result in higher (lower) taste and risk perception in branded food. Study 2 reveals the underlying mechanisms of this effect by introducing perceived movement as a mediator between logo orientation and food perception. The results support the inference that movement is an underlying mechanism for the effect. Study 3 examines the effects of brand logo orientation and regulatory focus on consumer attitudes regarding branded food. The results suggest that for consumers with a promotion focus, a diagonal (vs. vertical) oriented logo leads to a more favorable attitude toward the food. For consumers with a prevention focus, a diagonal (vs. vertical) oriented logo leads to a less favorable attitude toward the food. Study 4 establishes validity of the above findings regarding native English speakers.     

Variables influencing food perception reviewed for consumer-oriented product development

Consumer wishes have to be translated into product characteristics to implement consumer-oriented product development. Before this step can be made, insight in food-related behavior and perception of consumers is necessary to make the right, useful, and successful translation. Food choice behavior and consumers' perception are studied in many disciplines. Models of food behavior and preferences therefore were studied from a multidisciplinary perspective. Nearly all models structure the determinants related to the person, the food, and the environment. Consequently, the overview of models was used as a basis to structure the variables influencing food perception into a model for consumer-oriented product development. To this new model, referred to as food perception model, other variables like time and place as part of consumption moment were added. These are important variables influencing consumers' perception, and therefore of increasing importance to consumer-oriented product development nowadays. In further research, the presented food perception model is used as a tool to implement successful consumer-oriented product development.     

试析儿童强化营养及配方食品的质量抽检结果及问题

略析福建省部分城市市场销售的儿童营养强化及配方食品的质量抽检结果及问题,结果显示质量抽检明显有益于当地商品质量的提高;知名品牌产品质量相对稳定;消费者选购该类食品应重视食品标签的查看。     

二次元文化在乡土食品包装及品牌塑造中的应用

文章提出了运用ACG(动漫游)二次元文化优化与创新乡土食品包装。同时,在对其进行设计上,应重视地域文化特性、展示品牌化和强调体验感,以此增强包装设计内涵性和实用性。     

Influence of three non-sensory factors on consumer choice of functional yogurts over regular ones

To better understanding the consumer choice of functional foods, a choice-based conjoint study was carried out to investigate the influence of three non-sensory factors on consumer choice of functional yogurts over regular ones. Four attributes were considered in the conjoint study: type of yogurt (regular, enriched with antioxidants and enriched with fibre), brand (national familiar, national unfamiliar, and foreign familiar), price (low, regular and high) and claim (with and without ‘reduced disease risk’ health claim). Eighteen choice sets, each composed of three stimuli (regular yogurt, enriched with antioxidants and enriched with fibre and varying the brand, price and claim levels) were evaluated by 103 consumers. For each choice set, consumers had to indicate which yogurt would normally buy. A questionnaire on consumer attitude towards health and nutrition was answered by participants after the choice task. Brand, price and health claims highly significantly affected consumer choice of functional yogurts. The relative importance of brand was similar to that of type of yogurt. Therefore, results suggested that non-sensory factors such as brand and price could have an important impact on consumer perception of functional foods. The impact of brand, price and health claims was affected by consumer interest in health issues.     

A values–beliefs–attitude model of local food consumption: An empirical study in China and Denmark

Consumers’ and policy makers’ interest in local foods is growing. Accordingly, researchers are also increasingly paying attention to the consumption of local foods. Studies have identified preference for local foods as an emergent consumer ideology called “locavorism”, but they have not yet addressed its antecedents or put it into a theoretical context. In addition, extant research provides several insights into local food buying behaviour in developed economies (e.g., USA, UK, Germany, or Italy); however, studies simultaneously conducted in developed and emerging economies are lacking. To address these research gaps, this study develops a conceptual framework with proposed relationships among values, beliefs (locavorism and fresh start mindset), and attitudes towards and intentions to purchase local foods in China and Denmark. We conducted an online survey in China and Denmark that evaluated our constructs with pre-developed multiple-item measures. Using structural equation modelling to test the integrated model, we find that values and long-term orientation are antecedents of consumer beliefs but the influences of values on consumer beliefs differ between collectivistic-dominated China and individualistic-dominated Denmark. Specifically, collectivistic values are significantly and positively related to locavorism in both countries, while individualistic values are strongly linked to locavorism only in Denmark; collectivistic values have no effects on fresh start mindset for the two samples, but individualistic values are significantly and positively related to a fresh start mindset in Denmark. In addition, consumer beliefs are significantly and positively associated with attitudes towards and intentions to buy local foods. Local food marketers can use our findings to target their communications more effectively.     

Brazilian consumer views on food irradiation

This study investigated the consumer attitude to food irradiation in São Paulo, Brazil, through a qualitative research perspective. Three focus groups were conducted with 30 consumers, responsible for food choices and purchases. Both irradiated and nonirradiated food samples were served in the sessions to motivate the discussion and elicit the participants´ knowledge, opinions, feelings and concerns towards the irradiation process. Reactions were similar among the groups and differences between the irradiated and the nonirradiated samples were hardly perceived. When provided with positive information about irradiation and its benefits to foods and human health, many people still remained suspicious about the safety of the technology. Risk perception seemed to be related to unease and lack of knowledge about nuclear power and its non-defense use. Participants claimed for more transparency in communication about risks and benefits of irradiated foods to the human health, especially with respect to the continued consumption.Industrial relevanceIrradiation is an emerging food processing technology, which has been gaining interest by food technologists, producers and manufacturers all over the world in the last decades. Irradiation is suitable for disinfestation, microorganism load reduction or sterilization, assuring the safety, as well as having benefits in the shelf-life of foodstuffs.Food irradiation is approved in many countries and its use in food processing is endorsed by several reputed authorities, such as FAO and USDA. Despite the approval and recommendation, this technology still remains underutilized not only in Brazil, but also in other countries. The main reason appears to be the consumer concerns and doubts about the use of radiations in food processing. To develop communication strategies in promotion of irradiated foods it is necessary to investigate consumer attitudes, knowledge, opinions, as well as fears, with respect to the use of radiation in food processing.It is well-known that consumer views on technology may vary from a culture to another. So, findings from consumer research in a country may certainly not reflect the consumer views in other countries. In this sense, Brazilian studies focused on consumer views on food irradiation are necessary to gain understanding on how the local market accepts the technology. Brazil is one of the most important food producers in the world and an emerging consumer market with a population of about 184 million people. Food irradiation is regulated in Brazil since 1973, but to date only a few food ingredients are subjected to irradiation. The wide use of irradiation in food processing would favor Brazilian producers in the quality and safety assurance of food products, both for the local market and for exports.     

Strength and conflicting valence in the measurement of food attitudes and preferences

There is a trend in current attitude research to move away from a simple uni-dimensional view of attitude, towards examining a more multivariate concept of attitude. An extensive array of attitudinal properties or dimensions has been provided, defined and categorised as ‘attitude strength’. Attitude strength has only recently been adapted as a conceptual framework for research in marketing and consumer studies. Our objective in this paper is to introduce some of the attitude strength concepts and literature in order to improve the measure and understanding of research dealing with measurement of food preferences, perceived food quality and satisfaction with food products, food suppliers, etc. The paper takes a particular focus upon problems in comprehending the middlemost choice or neutrality when measuring attitude items along a traditional bipolar semantic differential or a bipolar hedonic preference scale. Through several propositions, we have outlined how future research should note that both attitude ambivalence (mixed feelings) and non-attitude (lack of confidence in evaluation) could be threats to comprehending the middlemost response alternative on a questionnaire as neutral when measuring food attitudes or preferences in the traditional way. Our approach should also deal with some of the shortcomings of analysing attitude–behaviour consistency when modelling food consumption behaviour.     

Four questions on European consumers’ attitudes toward the use of genetic modification in food production

Four questions on European consumers’ attitudes to the use of genetic modification (GM) in food production are posed and answered: (1) how negative are consumer attitudes to GM applications in food production? (2) How do these attitudes affect perception of and preference for products involving GM applications? (3) How deeply rooted are these attitudes? (4) Will the attitudes change due to more information and/or product experience? Drawing on two major studies researching these questions, it is concluded that consumer attitudes towards GM in food production are negative, that these negative attitudes guide the perception of food products involving the use of GM and lead to a range of sweeping negative associations which overshadow potential benefits perceived, that these negative attitudes are embedded in a system of more general attitudes, especially attitude to nature, to technology, and alienation from the marketplace, implying that they are deeply rooted, and that they will not easily be changed by information. They may change, however, due to own experience with products produced using GM and involving clear consumer benefits.     

The silver sensory experience – A review of senior consumers’ food perception,liking and intake

It is commonly assumed that sensory impairments occurring with age negatively affect older people’s intake of foods in terms of both quality and quantity. This review discusses evidence published on the effects of age on sensory perception and the consequences for independently living seniors’ perception, liking and intake of food products. Because of anatomical changes in all the senses involved in human food perception, on average seniors perceive a lower flavour intensity than younger adults, are less sensitive to changes in the flavour profile of foods, and show a decreased ability to discriminate between different intensity levels of flavour and/or taste attributes. However, despite these differences in their sensory perception of foods, young adults and seniors seem to differ less in their initial hedonic appraisal of food products. Nonetheless, more research is needed to determine whether multisensory enrichment of foods across different modalities may lead to increased food liking in seniors both with and without olfactory impairment. Although limited, the current evidence suggests that sensory performance may be positively associated with BMI or body weight in specific senior populations. In addition, seniors fail to show a decreased appreciation of an eaten food, thereby increasing the risk of a monotonous diet. Taken together, these findings highlight the need for appropriate interventions and/or foods to improve and maintain adequate quantity and quality of food intake among independently living seniors, and especially those with low sensory performance. Such interventions should be holistic rather than focused on one modality and may also incorporate hedonic modulators such as past experiences, affective factors and external cues, e.g. brand names, labels or food packaging. In interventions and product development, segmentation of the senior consumer market is strongly advised to identify more homogeneous subgroups in order to deal with the large heterogeneity between independently living seniors. It is concluded that one size of the silver food experience will most likely not fit all senior consumers!     

Facing a trend of brand logo simplicity: The impact of brand logo design on consumption

Research has shown that the experience of fluency influences buying intentions of food products, but no study has examined how brand logos transferring a feeling of fluency might impact actual food intake. In two experiments, we assess how exposure to simple versus complex brand logos impacts food consumption. Study 1 shows that individuals consume more from a product which features a simple, flat logo compared to a product that features a complex, non-flat logo. Study 2 depicts the nature of the product as an important moderator in this effect: while for non-prestigious products simple brand logos increase consumption, the opposite occurs for prestigious food products. Overall, while the tenet of the findings is consistent with earlier work on fluency effects within the food domain, this research provides evidence that brand logo design has the potential to impact actual food intake.     

An analysis of the incremental value of retaining brand-level information in food consumption databases in estimating food additive intake

In the Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults (DNSBA) food consumption database, brand level intake data are recorded for 2197 subjects over 7 days. This study set out to examine the incremental value of such brand level data in food consumption studies to estimate additive intake. The food codes in the DNSBA database were re-arranged into 14 food categories within each of which were varying numbers of both sub-categories of foods and of brands. Intake of the 97.5th percentile for brands and sub-categories were compared with intakes at the 97.5th percentile of the appropriate food category. Taking ≥ 60 consumers as the minimal sample size for which a 97.5th percentile statistic can be calculated, only 6% of the 1363 brands listed had sufficient data to work with. Of the 14 food categories, six had a sub-category with a 97.5th percentile in excess of that of the category but none exceeded 1.3 x 97.5th percentile intake of the category. Of the 85 brands for which there were ≥ 60 consumers, only 11 had 97.5th percentile intakes in excess of that statistic for the relevant food category and none exceeded a multiple of 1.3 times the category 97.5th percentile intakes. Unless dietary surveys are very large and carried out for longer periods of time, there is little value in retaining food consumption data at brand level. If 1.3x the intake of an additive from a given food category at the 97.5th percentile does not exceed the ADI, no sub-category or brand appears to do so. This may provide a valuable technique in crude estimates of food additive intake.     

The impact of sugar-related claims on perceived healthfulness,caloric value and expected taste of food products

Food packaging usually includes multiple cues, including claims about nutrients that may modulate how the consumer perceives (and behaves towards) the product. In the current work, we systematically examined how different types of claims about sugar influenced the perception of food product categories (i.e., yogurts, ice creams, cookies, and breakfast cereals). In two experiments (combined n = 406), participants were asked to evaluate the perceived healthfulness, caloric value, and expected taste of products with (vs. without) sugar-related claims. Specifically, the claims were on the sugar content (“0% sugar”, “sugar-free”, “no added sugars”, “low sugar” - Experiment 1) or on the type of sugars or sweeteners of natural origin (“sucrose”, “cane sugar”, “honey” and “stevia” - Experiment 2).Experiment 1 revealed that all products with sugar-related claims were rated as healthier, less caloric, and less tasty than the regular alternatives. Still, products with the “low sugar” claim were perceived as the least healthy, most caloric, and tastiest. In Experiment 2, we observed that products with “stevia” claim were rated as healthier, less caloric, and less tasty than regular products. In both experiments, the frequency of consumption of products with sugar-related claims was positively associated with the general perception of these products, the influence of nutritional information on consumption decisions, attention to sugar intake, and interest in nutrition.Overall, our results show that sugar-related claims may influence consumer's perceptions about food products, but the direction of that influence depends on the type of claim and evaluative dimension.     

从月饼包装透视烘焙食品包装发展状况

<正> 一、行业透视包装是烘焙食品不可或缺的原辅材料,其主要功能一方面是保证食品的安全卫生,延长食品的保质期;另一方面是美化产品,提升产品的附加值。包装材料品种丰富。从材质上来看,目前市面上用于食品包装方面的主要材料包括:塑料、纸,金属,纸塑复合、玻璃、木等,其中塑料、纸、金属三种材料份额超过80%。烘焙食品的包装以塑料薄膜和纸品包装为主,特别是直接接触食品的初始包装材料——塑料薄膜,使用量最大。伴随着烘焙食品产业的迅猛发展,目前国内的烘焙包装厂商已经形成一定的规模,全国各地涌现出众多的烘焙包装供应厂     

Cannabis-infused food and Canadian consumers’ willingness to consider “recreational” cannabis as a food ingredient

At the time of this study, the Canadian government intends to legalize the use of recreational cannabis. Despite its intentions, the regulatory framework remains ambiguous. Food businesses, with their constant search for growth, are considering launching several food products with cannabis as an ingredient, once the drug is legalized. This study does not look at the health effects of cannabis per se, but rather consumers’ perception of cannabis as a food ingredient through the lens of food innovation, if it were to be legalized. It explores several dimensions, including cannabis-infused food products sold in grocery stores and dishes served at restaurants. It evaluates potential times when consumers would consume these products, in addition to their preferred food products. The survey also looks at perceived risks related to specific demographics such as children and pregnant women. The survey assesses both perceived risks and anticipated behaviour in a market in which a former illicit product becomes readily available.The results show that Canadians, although mostly favourable to cannabis's legalization and willing to try cannabis-infused food products, are concerned about health risks the drug represents, especially for young children. Results also suggest that most Canadians do not feel knowledgeable enough to cook with cannabis at home, which opens an opportunity for leaders in the industry. Finally, the study presents limitations and suggested future paths for research.     

Neophobia,personal consumer values and novel food acceptance

For some years now, the food sector has been faced with an increasingly competitive and globalised market and much more stringent demand from consumers. This situation has forced food producers and processors, among other things, to innovate and develop new products in order to improve their position in the competition. However, innovations in the food industry suffer a high market failure rate, partly due to a phenomenon known as neophobia, which is the rejection some people express towards new or unfamiliar foods.This paper aims to analyze whether variation in the complexity and the associated benefits and values in the choice structure relating to novel food products can be linked to the consumer’s degree of phobia towards novel foods. These objectives are pursued through a study based on the “means-end chain” theory. The results show that consumption decisions regarding novel food products have an important emotional component that is more pronounced in neophobic subjects, suggesting that the greater the reluctance to consume the product, the more complex the underlying choice process.