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Foods
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Factors Affecting Food Preferences and Their Association with Consumption
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Factors Affecting Food Preferences and Their Association with Consumption

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 5423

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Voltaire Sant'Anna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Life and Environmental Area, State University of Rio Grande do Sul, Encantado, RS, Brazil
Interests: consumers acceptance; behavior of healthy; sustainable foods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food acceptance and purchase intention behaviors are mediated by food-related attributes and consumer characteristics, which directly impact the food production chain. New ways of cooking and presenting foods with novel ingredients affect how consumers perceive and accept them. As present, one cannot launch a product on the market without considering its characteristics, and therefore, the study of consumer clustering (a priori using socio-demographic characteristics, or a posteriori by studying lifestyles, neophobia, etc.) is critical. Sensory and consumer sciences have advanced in recent decades, and understanding the factors that affect food preferences and their association with consumption are necessary for the development, production and marketing of products. Therefore, we invite researchers to contribute to this special edition of Foods to share knowledge and understand “Factors Affecting Food Preferences and Their Association with Consumption”,

Prof. Dr. Voltaire Sant'Anna
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • consumer behaviors
  • sensory acceptance
  • perception
  • consumer attitudes
  • sensory science

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 516 KiB  
Article
Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for High-Quality Vegetable Oils: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Chinese Residents
by Shiting Tang, Pei Wang, Huan Xing, Zeying Huang, Peng Liu, Tai Li and Jiazhang Huang
Foods 2024, 13(8), 1168; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13081168 - 11 Apr 2024
Viewed by 536
Abstract
The consumption of edible vegetable oil is an important source of essential fatty acids and vitamin E for the human body. Guiding residents to consume scientifically and reasonably control the intake of edible oils is an important part of promoting the construction of [...] Read more.
The consumption of edible vegetable oil is an important source of essential fatty acids and vitamin E for the human body. Guiding residents to consume scientifically and reasonably control the intake of edible oils is an important part of promoting the construction of a healthy China. Currently, Chinese residents have an insufficient understanding of the scientific consumption of edible oils, leading to an intake exceeding the dietary recommendations, resulting in excessive fat intake and increasing the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), this study analyzed the cognitive preferences and willingness to pay a premium for edible vegetable oils among urban consumers in China. The survey included 1098 Chinese urban consumers of vegetable oils. The research found that attitudes, health value, monetary value, and environmental endowment of urban residents are the main predicting factors of the intention to purchase high-quality vegetable oils. This study confirms the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behavior in the consumption of high-quality vegetable oils and provides theoretical contributions and insights for Chinese enterprises and policymakers in formulating marketing strategies for vegetable oils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Factors Affecting Food Preferences and Their Association with Consumption)
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13 pages, 1334 KiB  
Article
Consumers’ Segmentation Influences Acceptance and Preferences of Cheeses with Sanitary Inspection and Artisanal Seals
by Larissa Santos Pereira, Bruna Klein Borges de Moraes, Elizandro Max Borba, Bruna Bresolin Roldan, Rosiele Lappe Padilha and Voltaire Sant’Anna
Foods 2023, 12(20), 3805; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12203805 - 17 Oct 2023
Viewed by 928
Abstract
Food labeling serves as a crucial medium for industries to communicate product qualities to consumers. Sanitary inspection and artisanal seals are significant markers for traditional cheeses, yet current information on this topic is limited. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of [...] Read more.
Food labeling serves as a crucial medium for industries to communicate product qualities to consumers. Sanitary inspection and artisanal seals are significant markers for traditional cheeses, yet current information on this topic is limited. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of sanitary inspection and the ARTE seal on the acceptance of artisanal cheese. To achieve this objective, four hypothetical cheese labels featuring all combinations of sanitary inspection and ARTE seals were presented to 404 consumers. These consumers rated their acceptance of each label, a conjoint analysis was conducted, and the relative importance of each seal was calculated. Subsequently, consumers were segmented using hierarchical cluster analysis. Their socio-demographic profiles were statistically correlated to the clusters through a chi-squared method. The results revealed the existence of three distinct consumer groups: those who strongly prefer cheeses with a sanitary seal (assigning a relative importance of 80.2% to the seal), those who favor cheeses with an artisanal seal (assigning a relative importance of 52.5% to the seal), and those for whom the presence of either seal did not significantly affect acceptance. Consumers residing in metropolitan areas generally placed less value on both seals, whereas frequent purchasers of artisanal foods and residents of rural areas showed a preference for the artisanal seal. Other socio-demographic variables did not statistically correlate with cluster membership. In conclusion, consumer segmentation based on preferences for sanitary inspection and artisanal seals in food labeling is vital for developing effective marketing strategies and food safety education policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Factors Affecting Food Preferences and Their Association with Consumption)
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16 pages, 618 KiB  
Article
Assessing Food Preferences and Neophobias among Spanish Adolescents from Castilla–La Mancha
by Carmen del Campo, Cristina Bouzas, Margalida Monserrat-Mesquida and Josep A. Tur
Foods 2023, 12(20), 3717; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12203717 - 10 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1219
Abstract
Food neophobia is a reaction of dislike or fear of food, which may be due to a wide variety of factors (taste, texture, exposure at an early age, genetics, or diversity in feeding practices and food consumption). The aim of this study was [...] Read more.
Food neophobia is a reaction of dislike or fear of food, which may be due to a wide variety of factors (taste, texture, exposure at an early age, genetics, or diversity in feeding practices and food consumption). The aim of this study was to assess the preferences for tastes and foods and food neophobias among Spanish adolescents and to compare the differences between boys and girls. This was a cross-sectional observational study on 11–18-year-old healthy adolescents (n = 600; 50% female) recruited in the Castilla–La Mancha region (central Spain). Information on taste preferences, food neophobias, anthropometric measurements, and sociodemographic data was recorded. The highest taste preference was found for sweet, salty, and umami. Most adolescents usually did not try new foods outside the home, nor did they like to try foods from other countries. More than half of them also acknowledged being selective eaters or were very particular about the foods they ate. There were no significant associations between taste preference and neophobias with obesity, waist-to-height ratio (WtHR), sleep, and smoking. Adolescents showed a high unwillingness to change food habits, and most of the food neophobias found in the current study were related to new, novel, or previously unknown foods. Spanish adolescents from central Spain (Castilla–La Mancha region) showed a preference for sweet, salty, and umami tastes of foods, as well as food neophobia towards foods that they do not regularly consume, mainly those with a bitter taste. Gender and body weight showed little influence, and age had a moderate influence on food neophobias. Familiarity with foods, as well as educational activities, are suggested as useful to decrease food neophobias among adolescents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Factors Affecting Food Preferences and Their Association with Consumption)
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22 pages, 2163 KiB  
Article
Moringa oleifera Lam. Commercial Beverages: A Multifaceted Investigation of Consumer Perceptions, Sensory Analysis, and Bioactive Properties
by Jéssica Ferreira Rodrigues, Cristina Soares, Manuela M. Moreira, Maria João Ramalhosa, Neimar Freitas Duarte, Cristina Delerue-Matos and Clara Grosso
Foods 2023, 12(11), 2253; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12112253 - 2 Jun 2023
Viewed by 2187
Abstract
This study employs a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate consumers’ perceptions and acceptance of Moringa oleifera Lam. beverages, examining sensory attributes, chemical composition, and bioactivities. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analyses revealed significant chemovariation in phenolic compositions among commercial moringa beverages. [...] Read more.
This study employs a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate consumers’ perceptions and acceptance of Moringa oleifera Lam. beverages, examining sensory attributes, chemical composition, and bioactivities. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analyses revealed significant chemovariation in phenolic compositions among commercial moringa beverages. A soluble moringa powder drink exhibited the greatest concentrations of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, along with powerful antioxidant capacity powers assessed with ABTS•+, DPPH•, FRAP assays, •NO, and H2O2 scavenging activities. However, this sample was the least preferred and presented high Cd levels, exceeding WHO-acceptable values of 0.3 mg/kg. Sensory testing indicated that sweet and floral flavors contributed to beverages being liked, while green, grass, herbal flavors, sour, bitter, and precipitate presence were considered unfavorable sensory attributes. Health claims positively influenced acceptance, particularly among women. Consumers associated feelings of health, wellness, relaxation, and leisure with moringa beverages. During purchase, the most observed information included the ingredient list, health benefits, and type/flavor. These findings emphasize the importance of consumer awareness in reading labels, verifying product origins, and ensuring the absence of contaminants. By understanding consumer preferences and the impact of health claims, producers can better tailor M. oleifera beverages to meet consumer expectations while maintaining safety and quality standards. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Factors Affecting Food Preferences and Their Association with Consumption)
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