Food Quality and Preference最新文献

The current landscape of the perfume industry faces the challenge of enhancing product appeal and captivating consumers through innovation. Integrating multisensory elements into perfume experiences has the potential to drive this innovation forward. This research presents a novel methodology for characterizing sounds that evoke the perception of freshness in fragrances. Three experiments were conducted to explore the transferability of identified sound characteristics into the experience of certain fragrances. Experiment 1 assessed selected sounds to identify auditory parameters that effectively triggered primary freshness attributes. Based on these results, originally composed brand-aligned soundtracks were tested in Experiment 2 using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to investigate associations with freshness and brand values. Experiment 3 examined whether these soundtracks effectively modulated the implicit olfactory experience of two commercial fragrances. The findings showed that the soundtracks successfully elicited specific enhanced effects in how people implicitly perceived the freshness of a fragrance. These outcomes revealed how soundtracks can enhance the perceptions of freshness attributes (e.g., cold, blue, light) in the fragrance experience, consistencies and variations between self-report and implicit measures, and practical applications in multisensory strategies for cosmetic companies.

Nothing beats a comforting image of a bowl of hot soup with whisps of rising steam unless it is the actual soup itself. The current paper investigates the influence of food photography on people’s food expectations. Despite the recognition of the importance of the food temperature depicted in food images, the effectiveness of using visual cues on food photography to indicate temperature and potential managerial outcomes of so doing has barely been researched. This study explored whether the addition of visual temperature cues to food images was effective in activating relevant temperature associations, leading to downstream consequences, including food desirability, freshness perception and willingness to pay (WTP), with a focus on thermal temperature cues. Three online experimental studies were conducted showing that animated traces of steam added to food images not only induced hot temperature perception of the food, but also increased food desirability and freshness perception. Meanwhile, implied animation (i.e., static picture of rising steam) did not produce any such effect. Further, food image appeal was found to be a boundary condition for the effect of hot temperature cues: that is, when the food images is of low appeal, traces of steam which increased hot temperature perception, in turn enhanced freshness perception and food desirability, but not WTP. The effectiveness of animated steam textures crossmodally enhancing thermal temperature perception and food desirability underscores the potential in digital food creation and marketing.

Few studies have explored the associations of food literacy and sustainable and healthy eating behaviors with ultra-processed food consumption. This cross-sectional study evaluated the possible role of both food literacy and sustainable and healthy eating behaviors in ultra-processed foods consumption of undergraduate students. The sample included 600 healthy university students aged 18 – 30 years. Dietary intake was assessed by two 24-h dietary recalls and percentage energy from each of the four NOVA categories—unprocessed/minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, processed, and ultra-processed—was coded using NOVA. Food literacy was evaluated using self-perceived food literacy (SPFL) scale. Sustainable and healthy eating behaviors were assessed with Turkish version of sustainable and healthy eating behaviors scale. Multiple linear regression models, adjusted for sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and energy intake, were performed to examine the association between percentage energy from NOVA categories with food literacy and sustainable and healthy eating behaviors. Greater food literacy (β = 0.102, p = 0.034) and sustainable and healthy eating behaviors (β = 0.133, p = 0.006) predicted higher unprocessed/minimally processed food consumption. Lower food literacy (β = −0.140, p = 0.004) and sustainable and healthy eating behaviors (β = −0.104, p = 0.032) predicted higher ultra-processed foods (UPF) consumption. Results indicate that both food literacy and sustainable and healthy eating behaviors inversely associated with ultra-processed food consumption among undergraduate students. Future studies should investigate the longitudinal associations between food literacy, sustainable and healthy eating behaviors, and UPF consumption in order to provide different perspectives to develop food literacy programs and sustainable nutrition education which can contribute to reduce UPF consumption, so detrimental environmental impacts of UPF.

Innovation is a crucial element for achieving success in the food industry. Previous research has shown that color-flavor incongruent packaging designs possess the capacity to violate consumers’ expectations, thus signifying the innovativeness of a brand without necessitating alterations to the properties of the food products themselves. Here we report two experiments designed to examine whether exposure to such color-flavor incongruent packaging designs could influence consumers’ intentions to adopt innovative products. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that exposure to color-flavor incongruent packaging of potato chips with popular flavors increased the likelihood of participants to purchase the same food products with novel flavors. As for the participants with a relatively higher level of cognitive flexibility, the results of Experiment 2 revealed that such exposure to the novel packaging designs of familiar foods not only heightened their interest in buying but also amplified their likelihood to purchase certain innovative non-food products. Collectively, these findings suggest that exposure to novel packaging designs for familiar food products may enhance certain consumers’ intentions to adopt certain innovative products. Our findings highlight the role of unexpected and surprising experiences with food packaging in consumer behavior, offering valuable insights into possible strategies for promoting innovative products in the market.

In 2015, the United Nations’ sustainable development sub-goal 12.3 called for halving food waste per capita by 2030. In Norway, dinner leftovers are the largest consumer food waste category, particularly in households with children. To reduce household food waste, we hypothesised that different strategies for different consumer profiles are necessary and aimed to document self-reported food waste in relation to consumers' attitudes and personalities. In a survey, 333 consumers with children reported their perceived dinner waste (PDW). In addition, we collected the respondents’ attitudes towards food waste, as well as their environmental awareness and personality traits in order to classify them into three previously identified personality-environmental awareness segments. Our results show that Need to Change consumers (30%), characterized by Emotional Control and Openness to Experience, reported the highest PDW and showed reluctance to reduce food waste, making them a key target for interventions. Want to Change consumers (54%) reported the lowest PDW and showed high motivation to reduce food waste, but a further reduction from this segment would have less societal impact. Hard to Change consumers (15%), characterized by Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and low Openness to Experiences, reported medium PDW. Engaging this segment could have a moderate impact, but they might be harder to reach. Our findings support the idea that environmental awareness and personality traits should be taken into consideration when developing strategies to reduce household food waste. Targeted intervention recommendations to reach each profile are derived.

3D-printed foods remain narrowly understood by consumers, limiting their ability to make informed choices and potentially obscuring the broader reality of this market. This research aims to investigate the factors influencing consumers’ knowledge, motivation, and intention to consume 3D foods. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence logic, we foreground consumers’ opinions and sentiments about 3D-printed food preferences, drawing on empirical data from two surveys.

The findings of sentiment analysis show that the level of knowledge is critical in forming consumer sentiments both, positive and negative. Survey 1 examines the variations in positive affect, negative affect, and behavioral intention toward 3D-printed foods, considering extensive and limited levels of knowledge adequacy. This investigation uses the Knowledge Attitude-Behaviour theoretical model. Survey 2 identifies relationships through Topic recognition and applies the approach-avoidance motivation theory to discern the connection between health choices. Motivation (approach)/(avoidance) for 3D-printed foods both, had a positive and significant effect on healthy food choices. While Motivation (avoidance) had a positive and significant effect on resistance to new foods, Motivation (approach) of 3-D foods was not supported. The findings represented the importance of motivational tendencies, such as approach and avoidance, in shaping decisions related to healthy eating and receptiveness to innovative food concepts.

This research presents an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to deepen their understanding of food development and consumer trends in the 3D-printed food market. Relying solely on User-Generated Content for conclusions may be insufficient. Additional research methodologies and data sources are necessary for a comprehensive understanding of behavior and food preferences.

The adoption of sustainable diets is essential to maintain our planet’s ecosystem and the well-being of its inhabitants. Scientists characterize sustainable diets by four essential dimensions: respectful of the environment, of good nutritional quality, culturally acceptable, and economically fair. The ‘sustainable diet’ concept, however, can be challenging for consumers to understand. They might partially understand the concept or have representations of the concept that are not shared between individuals, which could result in difficulty putting the recommendations into practice. Our study investigated French consumers’ social representations of sustainable diets, aiming more particularly to show if groups with different levels of education might have different representations. A free word association task was carried out by 273 participants aged between 20 and 60 years. Our results revealed common associations among the participants, including concepts such as ecology, health, environment, and locality. Sociocultural and economic dimensions were rarely mentioned, unlike the predominant environmental dimension. Segmentation analysis by education level revealed that participants in the higher education group had more multidimensional social representations. These results show that the ‘sustainable diet’ concept is not fully shared by French consumers. Clarifying the definition should improve consumer understanding, thus promoting the adoption of sustainable diet practices by all.

Meat alternatives have the potential to shift people’s diets into a more sustainable direction. To improve consumers’ attitudes to meat alternatives and increase the likelihood of their consumption, it is important to identify the most promising protein sources from a consumer perspective. This study investigated expectations toward 17 specific protein sources applied in meat alternatives and four conventional animal-based protein sources across six rating dimensions in an online survey with 916 participants from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Additionally, several relevant consumer characteristics, namely food neophobia, health consciousness, preference for naturalness, environmental identity, and consumers’ attitudes to meat and meat alternatives, were assessed. Meat alternatives containing potato, lentil, chickpea, and pea achieved the highest acceptance scores. Other protein sources, such as algae, insects, and different types of cultured meat, did not achieve high acceptance. Multiple regressions were used to investigate further the influence of consumer characteristics. For different types of protein sources, different consumer characteristics were identified as barriers, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing groups of consumers and types of protein sources. The study also showed that people’s commitment to meat has no influence on their acceptance of alternative proteins; rather, negative attitudes to meat alternatives are the problem. Future efforts should therefore focus on optimizing the properties of meat alternatives, instead of demonizing the consumption of meat. One way to optimize the acceptance of meat alternatives is to use ingredients that consumers already have positive expectations toward, such as potato, lentil, chickpea, and pea.

The Olfactory Priming Task (OPT) is a new implicit measure developed to capture associations between odors and feeling-related words that was inspired by previous priming techniques. Participants are presented with feeling-related words and asked to categorize them as “relaxing” or “energizing” as quickly and accurately as possible, while supposedly relaxing or stimulating odors are delivered as a prime. Accuracy and response times are recorded, and participants are expected to react faster and more accurately with feeling-related words that are congruent with the primed odor. We validated the OPT in two experiments with the use of menthol/vanillin and fine fragrances, respectively. Results indicated that the OPT could discriminate odors from their relaxing/energizing properties, with participants showing faster responses to energizing-related words after priming with menthol or “Perfume 1” and to relaxing-related words after priming with vanillin or “Perfume 2.” These associations were further confirmed by subjective reports, with participants rating menthol and Perfume 1 as more energizing and vanillin and Perfume 2 as more relaxing. The results suggest that exposure to relaxing/energizing odors activates congruent feelings in consumers. The results also demonstrate the validity and reliability of the OPT as an implicit measure for capturing associations between odors and feeling-related words, making it a valuable tool for measuring consumers' affective response to flavors and fragrances.

Because of their comparatively high nutritious and various environmental advantages compared to other livestock, the academic and public interest in edible insects increased greatly. In previous studies, personality traits have been recognized as important factors in shaping consumers’ food choices and evaluations. However, the exploration of the connections between personality traits and entomophagy remains an area with limited research. With a valid sample size of 284 Japanese consumers, we investigated the relationships between the big five personality traits and attitudes towards entomophagy (i.e., disgust towards and interest in entomophagy). The analysis results indicate that the big five personality traits influence consumer attitudes towards entomophagy. More specifically, while conscientiousness and neuroticism present positive correlations with the disgust, openness presents a negative correlation with the disgust. Similarly, while openness presents a positive correlation with the interest, conscientiousness presents a negative correlation with the interest. Besides, agreeableness and extraversion show insignificant connections with both attitudes. We also examined gender differences and found that the correlations between the big five personality traits and the attitudes differ between males and females.