Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Consumer food preferences'

This thesis addresses various food safety issues and investigates them from an economic perspective within four different, but related, studies. The studies are intended to provide policy-makers and other decision-makers in the industry with valuable information that will help them to implement better mitigation strategies and policies. The studies also present some applications of advancements in choice modelling, and thus contribute to the literature. To address these issues, various surveys were conducted in the UK.The first study investigates different stakeholder groups’ perceptions of responsibility among the stages of the meat chain for ensuring the meat they eat does not cause them to become ill, and how this differed with food types. The means by which this is achieved is novel, as we elicit stakeholders’ relative degrees of responsibility using the Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) technique. BWS is particularly useful because it avoids the necessity of ranking a large set of items, which people have been found to struggle with. The results from this analysis reveal a consistent pattern among respondents of downplaying the extent of their own responsibility. The second study explores people’s perceptions of various food and non-food risks within a framework characterised by the level of control that respondents believe they have over the risks, and the level of worry that the risks prompt. The means by which this is done differs from past risk perception analyses in that it questions people directly regarding their relative assessments of the levels of control and worry over the risks presented. The substantive analysis of the risk perceptions has three main foci concerning the relative assessment of (i) novel vs. more familiar risks, (ii) food vs. non-food risks, (iii) differences in the risk perceptions across farmers and consumers, with a particular orientation on E. coli. The third study investigates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for reductions in the level foodborne health risk achieved by (1) nanotechnology and (2) less controversial manners in the food system. The difference between consumers’ valuations provides an implicit value for nanotechnology. This comparison is achieved via a split sample Discrete Choice Experiment study. Valuations of the risk reductions are derived from conditional, heteroskedastic conditional, mixed, and heteroscedastic mixed logit models. General results show the existence of heterogeneity in British consumers’ preferences and variances, and that the value of nanotechnology differs for different types of consumers. The fourth study investigates consumers’ perceptions of trust in institutions to provide information about nanotechnology and its use in food production and packaging. It is shown how the use of BWS and Latent Class modelling of survey data can provide in-depth information on consumer categories useful for the design of effective public policy, which in turn would allow the development of best practice in risk communication for novel technologies. Results show heterogeneity in British consumers’ preferences. Three distinct consumer segments are identified: Class-1, who trust “government institutions and scientists” most; Class-2, who trust “non-profit organisations and environmental groups” most; and Class-3, who trust “food producers and handlers, and media” most.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 168 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-168). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

The aim of this thesis is to investigate Spanish consumers purchase motivations and behavior towards organic food by means of determining the key factors that take part on building their behavior. An important contribution of this work consists on providing more evidence on consumers’ underlying motivations to buy organic food for the particular case of Spain and to test the role of sensory “experience” in defining individual new WTP for a post purchasing situation. This thesis investigates the role of personal, economic and social elements in predicting Spain consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions toward organic food. It place together all the relevant variables identified by previous studies developing a new and complex behavioral model on consumers’ organic decision making process. The new conceptual model is developed and tested via structural equation modeling. Results show that attitudes, knowledge, as well as environmental and health concern partially mediates the effects of trust in market agents and risk perceptions on attitudes toward organic food. Furthermore, price and subjective norms have been detected to explain organic food purchase intention. Next, this thesis analyzes the factors affecting consumer’s willingness to pay (WTP) for organic food. In this context, the most widely used valuation methods have been Conjoint Analysis and Choice Experiments. However, discrete choice and conjoint data do not offer immediate financial consequences for the participants. As a consequence, consumers tend to overestimate their real WTP. For that reason, this thesis investigates approaches to incorporate incentives into the traditional conjoint and choice methodologies. In this research, we analyze the “Calibrated Auction-Conjoint Valuation method” (CACM), by comparing Non-adjusted values from a self-explicated conjoint method to the final calibrated values entered using a non-hypothetical auction in a context well suited to the CACM: preferences for sustainable farming. We noticed that consumers significantly reduced their WTP when moving from the initial stage of the CACM to the final stage, primarily by placing less importance on product prices, implying that WTP values from a self-explicated conjoint method used alone would likely lead to overstated estimates of WTP. Finally, consumers’ willingness to pay and sensory “experience” is assessed through an experimental auction. Two auctions have been designed: the first consists on consumers’evaluation of different food options based on search attributes (before purchase) and the second after tasting it (simulating a post purchasing situation). In between a hedonic sensory test is performed. Simultaneously, as a complementary exercise, a trained panel sensory test has been employed to identify the main organoleptic characteristics that consumers associate with the hedonic taste satisfaction. Finally, factors affecting consumers’ WTP differences in the two auctions are analyzed. We have detected that the Spanish consumers have a positive attitude towards sustainable food due to environmental concerns, health concerns, and trust in certification and market agents. However, the premium they are willing to pay for these products is lower than the current market price. Furthermore, both “search” and sensory “experience” do influence consumers’ purchase behavior.
El objetivo de esta tesis es investigar las motivaciones de compra de los consumidores españoles y el comportamiento hacia los alimentos ecológicos por medio de la determinación de factores clave que intervienen en la construcción de su comportamiento. Una contribución importante consiste en proporcionar más evidencia a la ya existente en España sobre las motivaciones subyacentes de los consumidores para comprar alimentos ecológicos, así como determinar el rol de la experiencia sensorial en la generación de las nuevas disposiciones a pagar una vez comprado el producto. En esta tesis se investiga el papel de elementos personales, económicos y sociales en la predicción de las actitudes e intenciones de compra hacia los alimentos ecológicos de los consumidores de España. Se sitúan todas las variables identificadas en estudios previos desarrollando un complejo modelo del comportamiento de los consumidores de alimentos ecológicos en el proceso de toma decisión. Un modelo conceptual es desarrollado y probado a través de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados muestran que las actitudes de conocimiento, así como la preocupación del medio ambiente y la salud media parcialmente los efectos en la confianza en los agentes del mercado y las percepciones de riesgo a las actitudes hacia los alimentos ecológicos. Por último, las normas subjetivas y el precio explican la intención de compra. Además en esta tesis se analizan los factores que afectan la disposición a pagar de los consumidores alimentos ecológicos. En este contexto, los métodos de valoración más utilizados han sido el análisis conjunto y experimentos de elección. Sin embargo, la elección discreta y el conjunto de datos no ofrecen consecuencias financieras inmediatas para los participantes. Como consecuencia, los consumidores tienden a sobreestimar su verdadera disposición a pagar. Debido a lo anterior, esta tesis estudia métodos para incorporar incentivos en las metodologías tradicionales de elección y el conjunto de datos. En esta investigación se analiza el “Calibrated Auction-Conjoint Valuation Method” (CACM), mediante la comparación de los valores no ajustados a partir de un método conjunto auto-explicado a los valores finales calibrados participando en una subasta hipotética, en un contexto muy adecuado para el CACM: las preferencias para la agricultura sostenible. Hemos encontrado que los consumidores redujeron significativamente su disposición a pagar cuando se pasa de la etapa inicial del CACM a la etapa final, principalmente mediante la asignación de menor importancia en los precios de los productos, lo que implica que los valores de la disposición a pagar de utilizando solamente un método de auto-explicado conjunto podría llevar a estimaciones exageradas de la disposición a pagar. Por último, la disposición a pagar de los consumidores se determina mediante una subasta experimental. Dos subastas se han diseñado: la primera consiste en la evaluación de los consumidores de las opciones de diferentes alimentos en función de atributos de búsqueda (antes de la compra) y el segundo después de probarlo (simulando una situación postcompra). Entre las dos apuestas se lleva a cabo una prueba sensorial hedónica. Al mismo tiempo, como un ejercicio complementario, una prueba sensorial con un panel entrenado se realizó para identificar las principales características organolépticas que los consumidores asocian con la satisfacción hedónica del gusto. Finalmente, para determinar los factores que afectan las diferencias en la disponibilidad a pagar de los consumidores se analizan dos subastas. Se encontró que los consumidores españoles tienen una actitud positiva hacia la comida producida de manera sostenible debido a las preocupaciones ambientales, problemas de salud, y la confianza en la certificación y los agentes del mercado. Sin embargo, la prima que están dispuesto a pagar por estos productos es menor que el precio del mercado actual. Por otra parte, existe una la influencia clara de los atributos intrínsecos del producto (tipo de producción, etc), y la “experiencia” sensorial en el comportamiento de compra del consumidor.

As voice assistants and voice-controlled devices continue to gain traction, companies worldwide are exploring the potentials that voice-controlled systems can offer - an ability to connect with users, drive customer attraction, gain market share, and build valuable relationships with market segments. Voice systems shift the interactions from human-based interaction or manually input to a process bound to electronic devices and channels. Now more than ever, a comprehensive understanding that outlines how voice-controlled systems can be integrated into a business strategy can lead to new means of firm success. Voice is one of the new elements of a unified Internet of Things network, facilitating device control and interaction through a new interface. To understand the potential of a voice control system as a system and the value it can add to firm offerings to build consumer relationships, the research paper utilizes existing theoretical frameworks. The Internet of Things paradigm establish the digital landscape, while Electronic Customer Relationship Management Model explores the importance of how voice-controlled systems can build valuable digital relationships. Finally, the Technology Acceptance Model aims to clarify how voice-controlled systems are currently perceived by consumers and the factors which contribute to their potential adaption. The paper investigates the potential implementation of voice-controlled systems within the food industry as three unique service offerings. Using the food industry as a foundation for voice-controlled services adds valuable and credible insights. Through an exploratory research approach this paper as well investigates if any significant factors influence customer attitudes towards current and future usage of voice-controlled system. The combination of an organizational and customer approach aims to add to Voice Controlled Systems research by providing a foundation of customer perceptions that may influence the implementation of this technology. Conclusively, the paper underlines the potential services most accepted by consumers that can be employ through voice-controlled systems within the food industry.

L’odierna sfiducia dei consumatori verso i sistemi agroalimentari industriali e la loro crescente riflessività o “quality turn”, hanno portato negli ultimi anni allo sviluppo delle filiere corte (FC), in alternativa ai mercati convenzionali. Le FC hanno la capacità di aumentare la sostenibilità dei sistemi convenzionali in termini sia di equità socio-economica sia di sviluppo ambientale e locale, incontrando le abitudini e le motivazioni di acquisto del consumatore post-moderno, le quali sono per definizione molto eterogenee. Viepiù, la nuova Politica Agricola Comunitaria 2014-2020 incoraggia oggi la promozione delle FC, attraverso specifici supporti finanziari previsti all’interno del secondo pilastro, al fine di favorire uno sviluppo sostenibile. Questa ricerca indaga, attraverso un approccio multidisciplinare, le preferenze e il comportamento del consumatore verso l’acquisto in questi canali di vendita alternativi. Sulla base di alcuni risultati preliminari di natura qualitativa, tale ricerca esplora più in dettaglio determinati fattori che influenzano il comportamento del consumatore (sostenibilità, fiducia, equità). L’obiettivo più ampio è quello di fornire nuova conoscenza sulle FC, focalizzando l’attenzione in particolar modo all’Italia, al fine di spiegarne il crescente appeal sul consumatore e il continuo sviluppo. Questa ricerca passa da un approccio socio-psicologico (Teoria del Comportamento Pianificato) alla teoria economia, applicando la tecnica dell’esperimento di scelta basato su un mercato ipotetico e relativo ai mercati dei contadini. È stato svolto anche un confronto tra Italia e Brasile e Italia e Germania. I risultati mostrano l’importante ruolo della sostenibilità e della fiducia nell’influenzare gli acquisti alimentari presso le FC, cosi come una rinnovata enfasi su alcuni fattori legati al marketing tradizionale (contatto diretto con il produttore) e la possibilità per i consumatori di contribuire al reddito degli agricoltori.
In recent years, the erosion of consumers’ confidence in industrialized agro-food systems and their increasing reflexivity known as “quality turn” have led to the promotion of Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) as opposite to conventional markets. SFSCs have the potential to enhance the sustainability of conventional food systems in terms of socio-economic equity and environmental and local development, addressing post-modern consumer’s habits and purchasing motivations that are extremely heterogeneous in natures. In addition, the renewed EU Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020 encourages the promotion of SFSCs for the first time through a specific financial support within its II pillar, providing a publicly funded stimulus for sustainable development. This research aims at contributing to the growing literature on SFSCs, investigating consumer preferences and behavior towards purchasing food in such alternative schemes through a multidisciplinary approach. Based on some preliminary qualitative findings, this research explores the importance of some major drivers in influencing consumers’ preferences and purchasing behavior (i.e., sustainability, trust, fairness) more in depth. The broader objective is to provide new knowledge around SFSCs’ growing appeal among consumers, focusing especially on Italy, to explain their recent increasing in number. From a socio-psychological approach, i.e. the Theory of Planned Behavior, the research turns to economic theory with a choice experiment (CE) based on an hypothetical market situation and focusing on farmers’ markets. Italian consumers have been also compared with Brazilian and German consumers. Generally speaking, findings show the important role of sustainability and trust in influencing food purchases at SFSCs, as well as consumers’ renewed emphasis on both some traditional marketing patterns (i.e., face-to-face interactions with the producer) and the possibility to contribute to farmers’ income.

Insects as food is a subject that has gained a lot of attention in recent time. In order for insect-food to become popular in the west, where insects are currently not consumed, research has to be done on how consumers perceive insect-food, and which consumer groups that eat insects in other countries. This will give a picture of how insects can and should be used on the Swedish market. The purpose of the thesis is to research consumer associations and preferences of insect consumption in Sweden and South Africa. The study examines the question of which consumer groups that eat insects in either country, what associations and preferences consumers have of insect-eating, and how insects can be used in food in the future. An online questionnaire concerning associations, preferences and experiences of insect consumption was distributed in both countries, and was answered by 73 participants. Three producers of insects were interviewed in Sweden and South Africa to get an understanding of the production stage of insects and their experiences of the industry and the consumers, now and in the future. Entomophagy was not found to be more prevalent in any group in neither Sweden nor South Africa. When used in food, consumers prefer insects to be ground into a powder. The South African respondents who had previously eaten insects mainly as an everyday meal preferred the insects to be served whole while the others preferred the insects to be ground into a powder. Insects are often associated with being nutritious, cheap, and being environmentally friendly, as well as with unfamiliarity and disgust.
Insekter som mat är ett ämne som fått mycket uppmärksamhet på senare tid. För att insektsmat ska kunna slå igenom i västvärlden, där insekter i nuläget inte konsumeras, måste man ta reda på hur insektsmat uppfattas av konsumenter, och vilka konsumentgrupper som äter insekter i andra länder. Detta ger en bild av hur insekter kan och bör användas på den svenska marknaden. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka associationer och preferenser rörande insektsmat i Sverige och Sydafrika. Studien undersöker vilka konsumentgrupper som äter insekter i de två länderna, vad konsumenterna har för associationer och preferenser för insektsätande, och hur insekter kan användas i mat i framtiden. En webbaserad enkät skickades ut till konsumenter i vardera land, och besvarades av totalt 73 deltagare. Frågorna handlade om associationer, preferenser och erfarenhet i förhållande till insektsätande. Tre insektsproducenter intervjuades i Sverige och Sydafrika för att ge en förståelse för produktionen samt deras tankar och erfarenheter av branschen och konsumenterna, nu och i framtiden. Oberoende av i vilket land undersökningen genomfördes var det inte möjligt att karaktärisera några konsumentgrupper där entomofagi var mer vanligt förekommande. När insekter används i mat föredrar konsumenter att dessa mals ned till ett pulver. Insekter associeras ofta med att vara näringsrikt, billigt och miljövänligt, samt med ovana och äckel.

Background  In the context of booming e-commerce, logistics service is an opportunity as well as a challenge for fresh products e-retailers and their logistics service providers (LSPs). In fact, they offered various fancy logistics services, like evening home delivery, same-day delivery and recyclable packaging. However, it will lead to a high cost. So, it is necessary for them to understand consumer preferences for logistics services to obtain their satisfaction and loyalty as well as to decrease the logistics costs.  Purpose  The purpose of this study is to investigate consumer preferences for logistics services within online retailing of fresh products in Sweden.  Method  To fulfill the research purpose, a quantitative research is conducted by employing the full-profile conjoint analysis. The quantitative data in a raw form were collected from the questionnaire, which has investigated 161 respondents in Sweden for rating nine logistics service profiles. To reduce the respondents’ evaluation task, the profiles are generated by orthogonal design in SPSS 24.0. The data analysis is conducted by conjoint analysis module in the software.  Conclusion  The results show that free home delivery is the preferred choice and green packaging material is much more attractive than ordinary one. Delivery speed does not appear to be so important comparing with the other attributes, which means the respondents could accept the delivery within one week. To extent, the respondents are very cost conscious, but they are still willing to make trade off for the premium logistics services. For example, they could accept 1-50 kronor delivery fee when they select home delivery with green package marticals. Therefore, e-retailers and their LSPs can focus on how to balance free shipping and certain delivery costs in different contexts.

Master of Science
Department of Agricultural Economics
Hikaru H. Peterson
This study investigates consumers’ preferences for organic baby meals. The growth of the U.S organic industry has been notable during the last two decades. The U.S. organic farmers do not produce enough quantity to meet the increasing U.S demand for organic food, and increasingly more organic foods are manufactured from organic ingredients produced outside the U.S. Tensions have emerged in the organic sectors as large-scale companies have seized opportunities to sell products differentiated with the organic label. The study aimed to estimate U.S. consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for selected attributes (type of brand, production attributes, and origin of ingredients) of baby meal products using a choice-based conjoint analysis. The organic offerings represent a nontrivial share of this market. In recent years, offerings under store brands have also been increasing. The study identified that consumers preferred a major national brand with a large market share such as Gerber (80%) to the other types of brands including store brands. In terms of product characteristics, pesticide free and non-GMO products were seen as consumers’ top priorities. Consumers would not buy products that did not exhibit these two characteristics. Minimally processed products seemed not to matter for the majority of consumers, and these products (sold frozen) were expected to be a niche market. Besides, a product made with U.S ingredients (organically or non-organically grown) was associated with a higher utility. Firms can run a cost-benefit analysis to see if sourcing U.S. ingredients could increase profit. Running experimental auctions are recommended to firms that want to elicit WTP for U.S grown ingredients and implement an efficient marketing strategy. This study is a preliminary analysis that highlighted consumers’ preferences in the baby food market, and future analysis would complement the findings.

The practice of promoting food to children via advergames is a highly topical issue which attracts much concern due to the low nutritional value of the promoted foods. This thesis examines the effects of customised food advergames on children’s affective, cognitive and conative responses. It also investigates the role persuasion knowledge and prior brand usage have in children’s interaction with advergames. In particular, whether children’s persuasion knowledge acts as a barrier to those responses. This research is situated within the domains of marketing communications, consumer behaviour and consumer socialisation. It adopts an affect transfer theory, the Dual Mediation Hypothesis (DMH), to explain the transfer of affect from an advergame to children’s responses. Three versions of the same advergame were designed for the purpose of this thesis with different levels of customisation (i.e. control, low and high experimental conditions). An experiment among younger (5-7 year olds) and older (11¬12 year olds) children reveals that customisation in advergames has a detrimental effect on children’s affective, cognitive and conative responses. It was the control condition, without customisation options, that rendered a positive impact on brand attitudes and preferences relative to the other two experimental conditions. Persuasion knowledge does not influence children’s affective, cognitive or conative responses. This implies that children’s understanding of the persuasive intent of an advergame does not act as a barrier against its effects. Age had a significant role on children’s attitudes towards the advergame, but not on their other responses to it. Finally, prior brand usage has a positive impact on children’s responses apart from on advergame attitudes. This thesis has implications to policy and practice. It is evident that children from two distinct age and cognitive developmental groups cannot protect themselves from advergames’ effects. Therefore, regulators should broaden the scope of concern to older and younger children alike.

The practice of promoting food to children via advergames is a highly topical issue which attracts much concern due to the low nutritional value of the promoted foods. This thesis examines the effects of customised food advergames on children’s affective, cognitive and conative responses. It also investigates the role persuasion knowledge and prior brand usage have in children’s interaction with advergames. In particular, whether children’s persuasion knowledge acts as a barrier to those responses. This research is situated within the domains of marketing communications, consumer behaviour and consumer socialisation. It adopts an affect transfer theory, the Dual Mediation Hypothesis (DMH), to explain the transfer of affect from an advergame to children’s responses. Three versions of the same advergame were designed for the purpose of this thesis with different levels of customisation (i.e. control, low and high experimental conditions). An experiment among younger (5-7 year olds) and older (11¬12 year olds) children reveals that customisation in advergames has a detrimental effect on children’s affective, cognitive and conative responses. It was the control condition, without customisation options, that rendered a positive impact on brand attitudes and preferences relative to the other two experimental conditions. Persuasion knowledge does not influence children’s affective, cognitive or conative responses. This implies that children’s understanding of the persuasive intent of an advergame does not act as a barrier against its effects. Age had a significant role on children’s attitudes towards the advergame, but not on their other responses to it. Finally, prior brand usage has a positive impact on children’s responses apart from on advergame attitudes. This thesis has implications to policy and practice. It is evident that children from two distinct age and cognitive developmental groups cannot protect themselves from advergames’ effects. Therefore, regulators should broaden the scope of concern to older and younger children alike.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Limited information is available on the apple preferences of the South African consumer market, which is characterised by diverse consumers from different age and ethnic groups with different food preferences. White, coloured and black consumers from different age groups were selected from the Stellenbosch area, Western Cape, South Africa. Consumer preference analysis for apple eating quality and appearance, and descriptive sensory analysis (DSA) were performed on nine commercial apple cultivars. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) conducted on mean preference scores for each age and ethnic group showed that preference generally differed between these groups. However, Ward’s statistical clustering that was applied to the same data set showed that the sociodemographic composition of consumer groups with similar apple preferences is not homogenous. Three consumer clusters were identified with similar preferences for apple eating quality (E1-3) and appearance (A1-3): E1 liked firmness and therefore tolerated sour taste and disliked mealiness. Although E1 liked sweet fruit, they indicated lower preference for sweet fruit compared to E2 and E3. E2 liked sour taste and apple flavour more compared to the other clusters while E3 disliked sour taste and had the highest preference for sweetness. Although coloured and black consumers generally disliked sour taste and E3 constituted a larger proportion of these consumers, the coloured and black consumers who liked or tolerated sour taste constituted approximately 41% of the total consumer population in the Western Cape. White and younger (<26 years) consumers were mostly in cluster E1 liking firm fruit. Peel colour preferred by the appearance preference clusters were: Green and pink bi-colour (A1), green/yellow and red-striped (A2); and red peel colour (A3). Consumers preferred the appearance of cultivars that associated with the eating quality attributes that they liked. When consumers’ preference for the eating quality of five cultivars were analysed during presentation with different levels of visual pictorial information (no, correct and incorrect photograph), mismatches between expected and actual eating quality preference resulted in lower preference scores. Apple breeding is time-consuming and expensive. Comprehensive knowledge of fruit quality parameters that drive consumer preference is required to streamline the breeding process. Eating quality and appearance attributes of four apple breeding families were subjected to instrumental and individual assessment by a trained assessor and DSA by a trained panel. Instrumental measurements could not predict the sensory attributes analysed by the individual assessor. Sensory textural attributes, apple flavour and sweet taste as quantified by DSA and instrumental measurement of titratable acidity (TA) and total soluble solids (TSS)/TA, but not TSS, could predict consumer preference. The assessor responsible for individual assessment could not predict the preference of the total consumer group. A quantitative genetic analysis of the data was carried out to quantify within- and between-family variation using ANOVA, variance components and heritability estimates. Variation between families was shown for attributes relating to colour and acidity, but not for sweet taste, TSS and apple flavour. Strong genetic control that was generally shown for colour attributes predicts a rapid selection response. Most attributes were inherited quantitatively, but TA showed complicated inheritance mechanisms.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Min inligting is beskikbaar oor die appelvoorkeure van die diverse Suid-Afrikaanse verbruikersmark wat bestaan uit verbruikers van verskillende ouderdomme en etnisiteite met verskillende voedselvoorkeure. Wit, bruin en swart verbruikers van verskillende ouderdomsgroepe is geselekteer in Stellenbosch in die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika. Verbruikersvoorkeuranalise vir die eetkwaliteit en voorkoms van appels en beskrywende sensoriese analise (BSA) is uitgevoer op nege kommersiële appelkultivars. Analise van variansie (ANOVA), uitgevoer op gemiddelde voorkeurdata per ouderdom en etniese groep, het getoon dat die voorkeure van hierdie verskillende groepe oor die algemeen verskil het. Volgens Ward statistiese groepering op dieselfde datastel was die sosiodemografiese samestelling van verbruikersgroepe met soortgelyke voorkeure egter nie homogeen nie. Drie verbruikersgroepe is geïdentifiseer met soortgelyke voorkeure vir appel eetkwaliteit (E1-3) en voorkoms (V1-3). E1 het ‘n voorkeur vir fermheid, ‘n afkeur vir melerigheid en verdra suurheid. Alhoewel E1 van soet vrugte gehou het, het hulle ‘n laer voorkeur vir soetheid as E2 en E3. E2 het ‘n voorkeur vir suurheid en appelgeur terwyl E3 ‘n afkeur vir suur smaak en die hoogste voorkeur vir soetheid getoon het. Alhoewel swart en bruin verbruikers meestal ‘n renons in suur smaak getoon het en meer van hierdie verbruikers tot E3 behoort, maak swart en bruin verbruikers wat suur smaak aanvaar ongeveer 41% van die totale verbruikersgroep in die Wes-Kaap uit. Wit en jonger (<26 jaar) verbruikers was meestal in E1 en het ‘n voorkeur vir fermheid getoon. Vrugkleurvoorkeure was vir groen en pienk (tweekleurig) (V1), groen/geel en rooi gestreep (V2) en rooi (V3). Verbruikers het ‘n voorkeur gehad vir die voorkoms van kultivars waarvan hulle die eetkwaliteit verkies het. Die effek van gevestigde kleur en smaak assosiasies is getoets deur verbruikers te versoek om die eetkwaliteit van vyf kultivars te evalueer tydens aanbieding daarvan met drie vlakke van visuele inligting, naamlik geen, korrekte en verkeerde foto. Verwarring tussen verwagte en werklike eetkwaliteit het gelei tot ‘n laer voorkeur. Teling van appels is tydrowend en duur. Uitgebreide kennis van die vrugkwaliteit parameters wat verbruikersvoorkeur dryf, is noodsaaklik vir effektiewe teling. Eienskappe wat verband hou met die eetkwaliteit en voorkoms van saailinge is in vier appelfamilies geanaliseer. Die eienskappe is geassesseer deur middel van instrumentele en individuele evaluasie deur ‘n opgeleide assessor asook deur BSA deur ‘n opgeleide paneel. Instrumentele analise kon nie die vlakke van sensoriese eienskappe voorspel soos waargeneem deur die individuele assessor nie. BSA van sensoriese tekstuureienskappe, appelgeur en soetheid, en instrumentele meting van titreerbare suur (TS) en totale oplosbare vastestowwe (TOV)/TS, maar nie TOV nie, kon verbruikersvoorkeur voorspel. Die assessor wat individuele evaluasies uitgevoer het, kon nie die voorkeur van ‘n groot verbruikersgroep akkuraat voorspel nie. Kwantitatiewe genetiese analise van die data is uitgevoer en binne- en tussen-familie variasie is gekwantifiseer deur middel van ANOVA, variansie komponente en oorerflikheidsskattings. Variasie tussen families is gevind vir kleureienskappe en suurheid, maar nie vir soet smaak, TOV en appelgeur nie. Resultate het getoon dat kleureienskappe meestal aan sterk genetiese beheer onderworpe is en dit dui op vinnige vordering met seleksie vir vrugkleur. Vrugeienskappe is meestal kwantitatief oorgeërf. Oorerwing van TS blyk ingewikkeld te wees.

Thesis (MScFoodSc) Stellenbosch University, 2014
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We aimed to determine how canopy position influences fruit quality and consumer preference for the eating quality and appearance of ‘Forelle’, ‘Bon Chrétien’ and ‘Bon Rouge’ pears. Our hypothesis was that consumer preference would be higher for the appearance and eating quality of outer canopy fruit. Our first trial investigated the effect of canopy position and cold storage duration on quality attributes and consumer preference for ‘Forelle’ pears. Mealiness was much more prevalent in outer canopy fruit in 2012 and after 9 and 12 weeks cold storage in 2011. In 2011, consumers preferred the eating quality of inner canopy pears that had been subjected to 12 and 16 weeks of cold storage while inner canopy pears were generally preferred in 2012. This study provides support for the mandatory 12 weeks cold storage of ‘Forelle’ pears. Our second trial investigated the effect of canopy position and harvest maturity within the commercial picking window on the quality attributes and consumer preferences for ‘Forelle’ pears. Inner canopy pears of harvest 1 (23 February) and harvest 2 (27 February) were significantly preferred in terms of eating quality. The general dislike for harvest 3 (13 March) pears and outer canopy fruit seemed to relate to an incidence of mealiness. Our results suggest that harvesting ‘Forelle’ pears at a firmness ≈6.2 kg will ensure that both inner and outer canopy pears have acceptable eating quality. In our third trial, fruit were harvested at commercial firmness from two orchards in each of Elgin and Ceres to assess the effect of orchard site on quality attributes of ‘Forelle’ pears. Total soluble solids (TSS) were higher in Elgin while flavour attributes were more pronounced in Ceres. In both areas, outer canopy pears were higher in TSS and lower in titratable acidity (TA) but canopy position had no effect on sweet and sour taste. Mealiness incidence was high in outer canopy fruit from Elgin, as well as in one Ceres orchard. Further research over consecutive seasons is needed to determine the reasons for orchard differences in mealiness incidence. Our fourth trial investigated the effect of canopy position on quality attributes and consumer preference for ‘Bon Chrétien’ and ‘Bon Rouge’ pears. Despite a higher TSS:TA ratio in outer canopy ‘Bon Rouge’ pears and a higher TSS and dry matter concentration in outer canopy ‘Bon Chrétien’ pears, canopy position did not affect sensory eating quality attributes. Seen overall, results indicate that canopy position has a minor effect on consumer preference for ‘Bon Chrétien’ and ‘Bon Rouge’ eating quality. No significant differences in colour and consumer preference for appearance were found between outer and inner canopy ‘Bon Chrétien’ pears. Consumers slightly preferred the redder outer canopy ‘Bon Rouge’ pears over the less red inner canopy fruit. Although consumers preferred the red blush colour of outer canopy ‘Forelle’ pears, inner canopy pears also received high scores. Inner canopy ‘Forelle’ pears should not be viewed as inferior to outer canopy fruit with regard to both eating quality and appearance.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ons het gepoog om die effek van boomposisie op vrugkwaliteit en verbruikersvoorkeur vir die eetkwaliteit en voorkoms van ‘Forelle’, ‘Bon Chrétien’ en ‘Bon Rouge’ pere te ondersoek. Ons hipotese was dat verbruikersvoorkeur hoër sou wees vir die voorkoms en eetkwaliteit van pere van die buitekant van die boom se blaredak. Ons eerste proef se doelstelling was om die effek van boomposisie en koelopberging op die kwaliteitseienskappe en verbruikersvoorkeur vir ‘Forelle’ pere te bepaal. Melerigheid was beduidend meer aanwesig in buitevrugte in 2012 asook na 9 en 12 weke koelopberging in 2011. Verbruikersvoorkeur vir eetkwaliteit was die hoogste vir binnevrugte na 12 en 16 weke koelopberging in 2011 terwyl binnevrugte in die algemeen voorkeur geniet het in 2012. Hierdie studie steun die bevindinge van vorige studies dat ‘Forelle’ pere vir ten minste 12 weke koelopgeberg moet word. Die doel van ons tweede proef was om te bepaal of ‘Forelle’ pere wat by verskillende ryphede binne die kommersiële oesperiode geoes is, verskille toon in kwaliteitseienskappe en of hierdie verskille, indien enige, verband hou met verbruikersvoorkeur vir eetkwaliteit. Die eetkwaliteit van binnevrugte van oes 1 (23 Februarie) en oes 2 (27 Februarie) is verkies bo buitevrugte. Die algemene afkeur vir oes 3 (13 Maart) en buitevrugte kan moontlik toegeskryf word aan die hoë voorkoms van melerigheid. Ons resultate dui aan dat beide binne- en buitevrugte aanvaarbare eetkwaliteit behoort te hê indien ‘Forelle’ pere by ‘n fermheid van ≈6.2 kg geoes word. Vir ons derde proef is ‘Forelle’ pere geoes by kommersiële fermheid (≈6.4 kg) vanaf twee boorde in elk van Elgin en Ceres. Totale opgeloste vastestowwe (TOV) was hoër in Elgin pere terwyl geur-eienskappe meer prominent was in Ceres pere. In beide areas het buitevrugte hoër TSS en laer titreerbare sure (TS) gehad, maar boomposisie het egter geen effek op soet en suur smaak gehad nie. Die voorkoms van melerigheid was hoog in buitevrugte van die Elgin boorde, sowel as in een van die Ceres boorde. Verdere navorsing oor opeenvolgende seisoene word benodig om redes vir die verskille in die voorkoms van melerigheid tussen boorde te ondersoek. Die doelstelling van ons vierde proef was om die effek van boomposisie op die kwaliteitseienskappe en verbruikersvoorkeur vir ‘Bon Chrétien’ en ‘Bon Rouge’ pere te ondersoek. Ondanks ‘n hoër TOV:TS ratio in ‘Bon Rouge’ buitevrugte en ‘n hoër TOV en droë massa konsentrasie in ‘Bon Chrétien’ buitevrugte, het boomposisie ‘n minimale impak gehad op sensoriese eetkwaliteitseinskappe en verbruikervoorkeur vir die pere. Boomposisie het geen effek op die kleur en verbruikersvoorkeur vir die voorkoms van ‘Bon Chrétien’ pere gehad nie. Verbruikers het ‘n effense hoër voorkeur getoon vir die rooier ‘Bon Rouge’ buitevrugte. Alhoewel verbruikers die aantreklike rooi bloskleur van ‘Forelle’ buitevrugte verkies het, het die groen tot geel binnevrugte ook hoë voorkeurpunte behaal. Rakende voorkoms en eetkwaliteit, is ‘Forelle’ binnevrugte glad nie minderwaardig teenoor buitevrugte nie.

Master of Science
Department of Agricultural Economics
John A. Fox
The concept of animal cloning was first introduced to the public’s attention in 1996 with the birth of “Dolly the Sheep,” the first mammal to be cloned. Now, after more than a decade the technology has reached a point of feasibility on a commercial scale. With the publication of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration risk assessment on animal cloning in 2008, a report that concluded that the technology was safe and posed no risk to consumers, the issue has received renewed attention. In this thesis I use survey data to examine attitudes to the use of cloning in animal food production among samples of college students in the U.S., Ireland, France, Honduras, and China. Stated likelihood of consuming meat products from cloned animals is correlated with individual characteristics including socio-demographic variables (gender, and farming background) and attitudinal variables measuring concern about various food technologies. In addition, using ordered logit modeling, we examine how respondents might change their probability of consuming cloned products after being provided with information about scientific assessments about the safety of cloning and possible price reductions for cloned products. The analysis shows that: a) respondents in the U.S. and Honduras were more likely than those in other countries to indicate that they would consume cloned products, b) on average, respondents in all countries increased their stated likelihood of consuming cloned products when informed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority had assessed cloned foods as safe for human consumption, and c) individuals who were opposed to cloning on moral grounds were significantly less likely to consume cloned product and furthermore were less likely to respond positively to information about the safety of cloning.

Throughout Australia, a great number of resources have been devoted to the burgeoning billion dollar Australian olive industry. Recently a rapid increase in olive oil production has been witnessed. This growth combined with aggressive international competition will see pressure put on Australian producers to supply quality and price-effective olive oil into the Australian market. This will require a detailed understanding of consumers' perceptions of and thoughts about olive oil and a comprehension of how, when, where and why consumers utilise olive oil.

For centuries, halal is a spiritual concept that Muslims continue to follow in their daily lives, specifically when purchasing and consuming products. The Muslim community takes up a big part of the world population. The demand for halal food consumption is increasing rapidly in line with the expansion of the Muslim community with 2.1 billion Muslims worldwide. Halal food becomes a profitable business not only among the Muslim majority countries, but also in countries where the majority are non-muslims. Viewed from an Islamic perspective, the concept of halal is vital to a Muslim. Halal means "allowed" or "permitted" in Islam). Therefore, Muslims will look for products in accordance with accepted religious teachings. This is marked by the number of demands in the world for halal products that already have a Halal certification. Halal appeal displayed in a product becomes a distinctive attraction and identity from similar products that become competitors. This becomes one of the more explorable product marketing tools. Countries with Non-Muslims as their majority are also showing tremendous positive demand trends. With this, the demand for halal food is also noticeable. The demand for halal food consumption is increasing rapidly in line with the expansion of the Muslim community with 2.1 billion Muslims worldwide. The 'Halal' concept has become a new trend in the consumer goods industry, especially with food, and is gaining more popularity. The reason behind it being the fact that the halal concept is not just a purely religious issue, it is now also in the dynamic of business and trade. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence purchase intention of halal food among Spanish Muslim consumers. This study aims to tackle questions on the perception of Muslim consumers in Spain towards halal food, and the intention to purchase the halal products, we also take into account the moderating role of religious involvement. This study also observes the mediating role of the halal attitude towards halal" between "halal consciousness" and "purchase intention"; and the moderating role of "religious involvement" between " attitude towards halal" and "purchase intention". Last, this thesis also study the effect of “halal consumers’ attitude” as a moderating variable to measure both indirect and direct effects of some constructs on purchase intention. Data were obtained from a survey of Muslim consumers living in various religions of Spain, then analysed using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The results showed that product awareness does not have an effect on purchase intention while other constructs do, including the mediating effect of consumers' attitude towards halal label and moderating effect of religious involvement. This study thus contributes to the advancement of knowledge on factors that motivate the purchase intention of halal food.

This study set out to establish artificial neural networks (ANN) as an alternate to regression methods (multiple linear, principal components and partial least squares regression) to predict consumer liking from trained sensory panel data. The study has two parts viz., I) Flavour study - evaluation of ANNs to predict consumer flavour preferences from trained sensory panel data and 2) Fragrance study ??? evaluation of different ANN architectures to predict consumer fragrance liking from trained sensory panel data. In this study, a multi-layer feedforward neural network architecture with input, hidden and output layer(s) was designed. The back-propagation algorithm was utilised in training of neural networks. The network learning parameters such as learning rate and momentum rate were optimised by the grid experiments for a fixed number of learning cycles. In flavour study, ANNs were trained using the trained sensory panel raw data as well as transformed data. The networks trained with sensory panel raw data achieved 98% correct learning, whereas the testing was within the range of 28 -35%. A suitable transformation methods were applied to reduce the variations in trained sensory panel raw data. The networks trained with transformed sensory panel data achieved between 80-90% correct learning and 80-95% correct testing. In fragrance study, ANNs were trained using the trained sensory panel raw data as well as principal component data. The networks trained with sensory panel raw data achieved 100% correct learning, and testing was in a range of 70-94%. Principal component analysis was applied to reduce redundancy in the trained sensory panel data. The networks trained with principal component data achieved about 100% correct learning and 90% correct testing. It was shown that due to its excellent noise tolerance property and ability to predict more than one type of consumer liking using a single model, the ANN approach promises to be an effective modelling tool.

This preliminary study investigated the factors which influence consumer choice of beef. A questionnaire and sensory evaluation considered the level of importance which consumers attached to the sensory (intrinsic attributes) properties of beef as compared to extrinsic factors. It was found that consumers use sensory properties to predict the freshness and overall eating quality, but they can also misinterpret the quality cues. Consumers made it clear that the freshness and the place of purchase played a prominent role in their decision to purchase red meat because they perceive the retailer to be an integral part of the overall quality assessment with regard to the purchase process of mutton and beef. The Total Food Quality Model is used as the frame of reference for analysing the way in which consumers perceive meat quality. The way in which consumers form expectations about the quality at the point of purcha7se, based on their own experience and information cues available in the shopping environment, is described as well as the way in which quality is experienced in the home during and after meal preparation. The relationship between quality expectations and quality experience and its implications for consumer satisfaction and repeat purchase intent is addressed. The study collected data by means of a questionnaire to evaluate the quality perceptions of beef. Cronbach alpha as reliability coefficient recorded high levels of reliability and the factor analysis revealed that only one factor, namely that of quality considerations is present in the analysis. Furthermore, the building on the insights obtained on subjective quality perception, possibilities for consumer–oriented product development in the meat sector are addressed. Issues dealt with here are branding, differentiation by taste, healthiness and convenience.
Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Introduction: The importance of brands and the competition between private and national brands in different food categories increased in recent years. According to literature, except for packaging and price, there is virtually no difference between the contents of food products in the majority of private and national brands. Private brands are usually cheaper than national brands. Previous research indicated consumers’ preferences for private and national brand food products to differ between various products and in different regions. Objective: The aim of this study was thus to determine the relationship between consumers’ brand preferences for different food products, in relation to their demographics and psychographics in a South African context. Setting: A mall intercept, interviewer administered questionnaire was used as a quantitative method in this study in Potchefstroom in a South African context. Consumers’ preferences for private and national brand food products in different product categories were explored, using preference, psychographics and demographical questions simultaneously. Results: Respondents in this study preferred to purchase national brands in all products categories except for cooking oil. Considering eight psychographic factors that were extracted by exploratory factor analysis, two factors could be associated with positive reactions, while neutral reactions were evident for six factors. Respondents being indecisive on the majority of factors could be due to the fact that national brands were preferred for most products by respondents in the present study. Conclusions: Although brand preference depended on demographics and psychographics in previous research, the present study did not find significant relationships with psychographics when different products were used. Although a combination of demographic factors (mainly gender, education level, home language and employment status) could be useful in determining brand preference when used with specific products, home language and education level seem to be the most important factors. Therefore, brand preference depended on specific demographics for each product, while psychographic factors did not play a significant role. This implied that brand preference research should be product and region specific using specific demographic variables.
Thesis (M. Consumer Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Reflecting the growing interest from both consumers and policymakers, and building on recent developments in Willingness to Pay (WTP) methodologies, we evaluate consumer preferences for an archetypal traditional food product. Specifically we draw on stated preference data from a discrete choice experiment, considering the traditional Hungarian mangalitza salami. A WTP space specification of the generalized multinomial logit model is employed, which accounts for not only heterogeneity in preferences but also differences in the scale of the idiosyncratic error term. Results indicate that traditional food products can command a substantial premium, albeit contingent on effective quality certification, authentic product composition and effective choice of retail outlet. Promising consumer segments and policy implications are identified. (authors' abstract)

Sustainability is at the top of the international agenda in every aspect: social, economic and environmental. Nowadays, the most important emblem that is widely discussed for its consequences in the environment is food packaging. While plastic is subject to a reputational crisis, a new field of comparison between brands and consumers is opening up, where environmental sustainability and packaging, which is its most immediate representation, become important drivers of choice. This paper is conceived with the purpose of investigating in depth the role of packaging in relation to environmental issues, an increasingly important aspect called upon to perform an educational function that can influence the consumer behavior. Packaging is in fact an essential component in the definition of a product and it is what the consumer notices at first sight at any point of sale. For these reasons it is necessary to understand what is changing and how these changes are perceived by consumers. Therefore, interpret how to translate their attention into a real contribution that might become truly meaningful. In this perspective this paper will be developed in three chapters. The first will highlight the limitations brought by the linear model, the key principles of the circular economy and the regulatory context within which institutions, businesses and consumers are called upon to intervene. Subsequently, the second chapter will analyze the relevance of sustainability within the modern market with a deep focus on the drivers that today push consumers to choose one product over another. Finally, the third chapter will define and discuss, through the survey’s results for the Italian consumers, what are the influences of sustainable packaging on food spending, what are the criteria for consumer choice and what is the most widespread representation of the term "green packaging".

Orientador: Maria Aparecida Azevedo Pereira da Silva
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos
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Resumo: Adolescência é um estágio da vida do indivíduo marcado por intensas mudanças fisiológicas, cognitivas e sócio-culturais, que afetam seu comportamento alimentar e saúde. Práticas alimentares inadequadas representam riscos imediatos para a saúde do adolescente e trazem implicações negativas para a sua saúde na idade adulta. Consequentemente, estudos que avaliam o estado nutricional e a adequação do consumo dietético de adolescentes são importantes e têm sido realizados no Brasil. Entretanto, em pesquisas nacionais de avaliação do consumo dietético da população, a utilização das novas recomendações nutricionais, as Dietary References Intakes- DRIs, como valores de referência, são ainda raras. Por sua vez, a prática regular de atividades físicas apresenta uma relação inversa com os riscos de doenças crônicas não transmissíveis e tem um efeito positivo na qualidade de vida do indivíduo. Assim, é importante avaliá-la concomitantemente à avaliação do estado nutricional, do consumo dietético e das predisposições e tendências no consumo dos alimentos pelos indivíduos. Pelo exposto, o presente estudo teve como objetivos avaliar: i) o estado nutricional dos adolescentes do Colégio Técnico da UNICAMP, identificando riscos nutricionais, ii) o consumo alimentar dos mesmos e a adequação da ingestão dietética de macronutrientes e micro-nutrientes em relação às recomendações nutricionais preconizadas pelas Dietary References Intakes ¿DRIs. iii) o perfil de atividades físicas desempenhadas pelos adolescentes e, finalmente, iv) desenvolver uma escala para avaliar as crenças e atitudes de adolescentes em relação aos alimentos, segmentando o grupo estudado de acordo com seus critérios e estratégias na seleção dos alimentos consumidos. Participaram do estudo 160 adolescentes com idade entre 13 e 19 anos amostrados de uma população de 759 alunos. Tratou-se de um estudo transversal com tomada de medidas antropométricas de peso e estatura e realização de registro alimentar de 3 dias não consecutivos, sendo um deles de final de semana. Para a classificação do Índice de massa corporal (IMC), utilizou-se os pontos de corte por idade preconizados pela Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS, 1995). Os dados de consumo alimentar foram processados através do Programa Virtual Nutri. A prevalência de inadequação de nutrientes foi estimada utilizando-se o método ¿EAR como ponto de corte¿ preconizado pelo Food and Nutrition Board/Institute of Medicine (IOM) utilizando-se programas computacionais em linguagem SAS (versão 8.2). A normalidade dos dados foi testada pelo método Kolmogorov- Smirnov, realizando-se uma ANOVA para os cálculos da variância intrapessoal. A média de consumo de cada nutriente foi ajustada para remoção da variância intrapessoal elaborando-se a distribuição ajustada de cada nutriente para a estimativa da prevalência de inadequação. Dados de atividade física foram coletados através de questionário específico. Para a medida de crenças e atitudes desenvolveu-se uma escala de atitudes em relação à seleção dos alimentos consumidos, partindo-se de um levantamento qualitativo de itens sobre o tema entre os adolescentes, à partir do qual foram formulados os itens que compuseram a Escala Likert de atitudes do estudo. Nesta etapa participaram 182 adolescentes, os quais expressaram seu grau de concordância ou discordância de cada item da escala de atitudes elaborada utilizando uma escala mista de sete pontos (1= discordo muito, 7 = concordo muito). Os dados obtidos foram analisados utilizando-se médias, distribuições de freqüência, coeficiente de Pearson, Coeficiente alfa Cronbach , ANOVA, Teste de Tukey e Análise de Componentes Principais, utilizando o software SAS. Os resultados identificaram que 9,7% dos adolescentes do sexo feminino e 19,4% do sexo masculino apresentaram sobrepeso. Cerca de 29% das adolescentes apresentaram excesso no consumo de lipídeos enquanto 12% apresentaram deficiência no consumo de carboidratos. Entre os adolescentes de sexo masculino, verificou-se alta porcentagem (40,3%) com excesso de consumo de lipídeos e 16,4% com deficiência no consumo de carboidratos. O percentual médio de adequação da energia ingerida foi de 87,6% para o sexo feminino e de 75% para o sexo masculino. Para o sexo feminino foram verificadas inadequações no consumo de ácido fólico e magnésio em 100% da amostra de adolescentes, fósforo em 96,2%, Vit. E em 48,8%, zinco em 42,5% e Vit. C em 21,5%. Para o sexo masculino observaram-se percentuais de inadequações de 99,4% para ácido fólico e magnésio, de 40,5% para o fósforo, de 20,3% para a Vit. C e 15,9% para a Vit. E. O consumo médio de cálcio foi de 642,0 mg para o sexo feminino e de 851,6 mg para o sexo masculino, valores muito inferiores à Adequate Intake - AI (1300 mg) estabelecida para cálcio, sugerindo também alta deficiência no consumo deste nutriente. Entre os adolescentes, 20% dos indivíduos do sexo feminino e 30% do sexo masculino declararam omitir o desjejum, enquanto cerca de 50% dos adolescentes omitiam os lanches da manhã e tarde. Entre os adolescentes do sexo masculino predominaram atividades físicas intensas (73,1%) inclusive para aqueles com sobrepeso. Entre as adolescentes do sexo feminino predominaram atividades físicas moderadas (41,9%). A escala de atitudes sobre critérios utilizados pelos adolescentes para seleção dos alimentos consumidos foi composta por 34 itens abordando aspectos nutricionais e de saúde dos alimentos consumidos, aspectos sensoriais, facilidade de preparo, marca, influências de pais e amigos, entre outros. A escala apresentou um alfa Cronbach de 0,70. Análise de Componentes Principais associada a ANOVA e Teste de Tukey identificaram dois segmentos de adolescentes: o primeiro, correspondente a 49% dos indivíduos da amostra, que privilegiava os aspectos nutricionais e de saúde dos alimentos na seleção de suas dietas e outro, correspondente a 51% dos indivíduos que valorizava mais que o primeiro grupo, os aspectos sensoriais dos alimentos a serem consumidos, principalmente o sabor. Os resultados sugerem a necessidade de implementação de programas de educação nutricional junto aos adolescentes da Instituição visando habilitá-los a uma melhor seleção dos alimentos consumidos que permitam corrigir as inadequações nutricionais identificadas
Abstract: Adolescence is a period of an individual¿s life which is characterized by intense physiological, cognitive and social-cultural changes that can affect both alimentary behavior and health. Inadequate alimentary practices represent an immediate risk for an adolescent¿s health and produce negative health related implications during adult age. As a result, studies that evaluate the nutritional state and the adequacy of adolescent dietary consumptions are important. Although these studies have been conducted in Brazil, they rarely use the new nutritional recommendations (Dietary References Intakes or DRIs) as reference values. On the other hand, the regular practice of physical activities presents an inverse relation with non contagious chronic illnesses risks, and has a positive effect in the quality of an individual¿s life. For this reason, it is important to evaluate one¿s physical activity level, as well as, their nutritional state, dietary consumption and preferences and trends in food consumption. Accordingly, the present study had as it¿s main objectives to evaluate: i) the nutritional state of adolescents from Unicamp¿s technical secondary school, identifying nutritional risks; ii) the teenagers food consumption and their adequacy of macro and micronutrients ingestion in relation to the DRIs (Dietary References Intakes); iii) the adolescents physical activity profiles and, finally; iv) to develop a scale for evaluating the adolescents beliefs and attitudes in relation to foods. For item ¿iv¿ we aimed to segment the group under study in accordance to their criteria and strategies adopted for food selection. Thus, 160 adolescents, with age between 13 and 19 years, were chosen to participate in this study, from a population of 759 pupils. This was a transversal study in which anthropometric weight and height measurements were taken. Additionally, an alimentary registration questionnaire was applied in 3 not consecutive days, where one of such days was on a weekend. For the classification of the IMC, the OMS cutting age points (1995) were used. Moreover, the alimentary consumption data was processed through the Nutri Virtual program. The prevalence of nutrients inadequacy was estimated using the "EAR cut-point method¿ followed by the methodology specified by Food and Nutrition Board/ Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the statistical program SAS (version 8.2). The data¿s normal distribution was tested by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov method; ANOVA test was performed to estimate the intrapersonal variance. The average consumption of each nutrient was adjusted to remove the intrapersonal variance. This was done through the elaboration of an adjusted distribution of each nutrient with the purpose of estimating the prevalence of inadequacy. At the same time, data relating to physical activity habits was collected through a specific questionnaire. Finally, a scale of attitudes in relation to food selection was developed. The scale¿s items were based in a qualitative survey performed with the target adolescents. 182 adolescents participated in this study phase expressing their degree of agreement or disagreement with relation to each item from the aforementioned scale, using a category scale of seven points (1 = I disagree totally, 7 = I agree totally). The data collected was analyzed based on averages, distributions of frequency, Pearson coefficients, alpha Cronbach coefficients, ANOVA, Tukey tests and Principal Components Analysis through the use of the SAS software. The results identified that 9.7% of the female adolescents and 19.4% of the males were overweight. About 29% of the adolescents presented excess in lipids consumption while 12% presented deficiency in carbohydrate consumption. Of the male subjects, a high percentage (40.3%), was verified as being in the lipids consumption excess group and 16.4% presented carbohydrates consumption deficiency. The average percentage of ingested energy adequacy was 87.6% for the female subjects and 75.0% for the males. Additionally, female subjects¿ inadequacies were seen for folic acid and magnesium consumption (100% of the individuals), as well as for phosphorus (96.2%), for vit E (48.8%), for zinc (42.5%) and for vit C (21.5%). In its turn, males¿ inadequacies were detected for folic acid and magnesium consumption (99,4%) ,as well as for phosphorus (40.5%), for vit. C (20.3% ) and for vit. E (15.9%). Likewise, the average calcium consumption was 642.0 mg for the females and 851.6 mg for the males. These intakes are very low when compared to the Adequate Intake ¿ AI recommendations (1300 mg) established for calcium, suggesting high deficiency in this nutrient consumption. Among the adolescents, 20% of the females and 30% of the males declared to skip breakfast, while 50% of the individuals skipped morning and afternoon snacks. Among male adolescents, intense physical activities have predominated (73.1%), including the over-weighted individuals. In the other hand, moderate physical activities were predominant (41.9%) among female subjects. The scale of attitudes developed in this study contained 34 items related with nutritional and health aspects of foods, as well as their sensory aspects, easy-ofpreparation, food label, among others. The scale presented an alpha Cronbach of 0.70 and the Principal Components Analysis, the ANOVA and Tukey test of its data identified two segments of adolescents: the first segment, corresponded to 49% of the individuals, favored the nutritional and health aspects of the food when selecting them; the second segment, corresponded to 51% of the individuals, who valued the sensory aspects of the food, notably the flavor. These results point to the necessity of implementing a nutritional education program in this institution, in order to guide adolescents in making better food choices, and thus, to prevent nutritional inadequacies
Doutorado
Doutor em Tecnologia de Alimentos

Mestrado em Viticultura e Enologia - Instituto Superior de Agronomia - UL / Faculdade de Ciências - Universidade do Porto
The present work intended to assess the influence food and physiological and demographic characteristics of the taster in wine preference according to sweetness and acidity as well as to segmentation based in. The panel test, with previous training, was established by 21 individuals grouped according to gender, saliva production, PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) sensibility and vinotype. Using a 2 ascending forced choice method, we verified that the preference for red wine with and without sugar was not affected by food, where we obtained a rejection threshold of 18.4 g/L of sugar. In white wines, tasters did not show significant preference for the wine with added tartaric acid (between 0.8 and 3.2 g/L) regarding the control wine in presence or absence of food. However, a tendency was observed for the increasing preference of the wine spiked with 1.6 g/L of tartaric acid after ingesting the food. The segmentation effect regarding the intensity and appreciation of added tartaric acid to white wine allowed to observe significant correlations (p<0.05) between the saliva production and vinotype only in appreciation. The individuals with low saliva production (<3.5 g/min) preferred the most acidic wines. In vinotype, the acid appreciation increased according to the sequence "hypersensitive” > ”sensitive” > “tolerant”. Lastly, 3 red commercial red wines were evaluated with food, by a trained panel test and by an untrained panel test trough ranking order classification. The statistical analysis of the results (Friedman test) did not reveal differences in ranking before and after food. The Pearson’s 𝑋2 test did not evidence changes in the appreciation of each wine before and after food. Regarding each taster, the Spearman correlation coefficient showed, in the trained panel with 21 tasters, 5 changed the wine position in the ranking. In the non-trained panel this change was observed in 10 out of 22 tasters. These results suggest that the variability of responses in each panel by not showing the effect of food on wine ranking, did not reveal individual preferences
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Trabalho Complementar apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de licenciada em Ciências da Nutrição
Background: Food neophobia has been associated with less healthy food choices and with poorer overall dietary quality, but it may also affect food preferences. The objective of this study was to assess the association of both food preferences and dietary intake with food neophobia in a sample of Portuguese adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a non-probabilistic sample of 229 adults, aged 18 to 84 years. Food Neophobia was measured with the Pliner’s and Hobden’s Food Neophobia Scale, previously validated. To assess the dietary intake over the previous 12 months, a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was applied. We defined a dietary pattern - the Healthy Diet Indicator (measuring adherence to dietary guidelines) to summarise the effects of overall dietary intake. Generalised linear models were performed to test those associations in multivariate analyses (β̂ and the respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI), controlled for sex, age and education). Results: Food neophobia was negatively associated with a general liking for the act of eating (β̂=-2.976, 95%CI:-5.324;-0.993) and with reduced preferences for specific foods, such as fruit and vegetables, game meat, oily fish, seafood, fish soup, and traditional Portuguese dishes with blood. Those with higher food neophobia showed a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables, but a higher consumption of milk and codfish, a very popular Portuguese dish. However, food neophobia did not affect the macronutrients and energy intake, as well as sodium, added sugars and fibre intake. Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern was not significantly associated with food neophobia. Conclusions: Our data indicate that the food neophobia level decreases the consumption and the preference for specific foods, but has no impact on a healthy dietary pattern.
Introdução: A neofobia alimentar tem sido associada com escolhas alimentares menos saudáveis e com uma menor qualidade da alimentação no geral, mas pode também influenciar as preferências alimentares. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a associação entre as preferências e a ingestão alimentar e a neofobia alimentar numa amostra de adultos portugueses. Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo transversal numa amostra não probabilística de 229 adultos, com idades entre os 18 e os 84 anos. A Neofobia Alimentar foi avaliada através da Escala de Neofobia de Pliner e Hobden, previamente validada. Para avaliar a ingestão alimentar nos últimos 12 meses, foi aplicado um questionário semi-quantitativo de frequência alimentar anteriormente validado. Foi também definido um padrão alimentar de Alimentação Saudável (que mede a adesão a recomendações dietéticas) para resumir o efeito da ingestão alimentar global. Foram realizados modelos lineares generalizados para testar as associações em análise multivariada (β’ e os respetivos intervalos de confiança a 95% (IC95%), ajustados para sexo, idade e escolaridade). Resultados: A neofobia alimentar associou-se a um menor gosto em geral pelo ato de comer (β̂= -2,976, 95%IC: -5,324; -0,993) e a uma menor preferência por alimentos específicos, como fruta e produtos hortícolas, carne de caça, peixe gordo, marisco, sopa de peixe e alguns pratos tradicionais portugueses. Indivíduos com maior neofobia alimentar apresentaram um menor consumo de hortofrutícolas, mas um maior consumo de leite e bacalhau, um prato popular Português. No entanto, a neofobia alimentar não afetou a ingestão de macronutrientes e de energia, assim como a de sódio, açúcares adicionados e fibras. A adesão a um padrão alimentar saudável não se mostrou significativamente associada à neofobia alimentar. Conclusão: Os nossos resultados indicam que o nível de neofobia alimentar afeta o consumo e a preferência por alimentos específicos, mas não parece ter influência num padrão alimentar saudável.
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This thesis describes experiments investigating the influence of some physiological and psychological factors on food preference and memory in the elderly. Chemosensory perception and food preference were examined in control groups of young adults and in elderly subjects. Age-related differences in smell and taste sensitivity and in food preference were found between the two age cohorts. However, the decline in chemosensory functioning observed among the elderly seemed to play a marginal role in food appreciation. Results suggested that other factors linked with life course such as past influences of personal experiences, familiarity and culture were the strongest determinants of elderly people food choice. Very close to these aspects, memory of food properties was found to be stable with age. Elderly people did not show any difference in incidental learning and memory of food as compared to children and young adults. On the contrary, food memory was found to depend on gender and on how much we like a product. Finally, the results of the present thesis strongly suggest that there is a great variability among the elderly and that it seems unlikely to consider them as a one, homogeneous group.

The number of public markets in the United States increased from more than 300 in the 1970s to more than 8,600 by 2016. This increase in markets is related to changes in food production, localism and the local food systems movement, socioeconomic changes, cultural changes, and perceptions of embeddedness. Research on the underlying conditions for the success of public markets is scant in the United States, and especially in the USDA Southwest Region. This study provides analysis of public market locations as compared with non-market locations by drive-time trade areas during a 20-year period, 1996 and 2016, to gain further insights into factors leading to their success. The results from logit regression analyses and simulations of socioeconomic, college-town status, and climate-grid classifications find an increased likelihood of public markets with population, education, college town status, and some climate-grid locations. Median income, surprisingly, has an inverse relationship with public market success. Qualitative data and a literature review point to three types of embeddedness that motivate customers to attend public markets. This study concludes that "local nontradable consumer goods" tied to place are offered at these "nontradable consumption amenities." These amenities are "third places" that promote social interaction and become important places of community, farmer support, and commerce across the Southwest Region.

In the last two decades the prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases due to overeating has increased dramatically in many developed and developing countries and forecasts of obesity trends suggest that in 2030 almost 51% of the population will be obese. These data clearly remark the need to find effective ways to tackle the problem. In this context, the thesis aims at studying consumers’ food-related behaviors with a specific focus on the role of time preferences and health-orientation. The work is organized as a collection of four independent studies analyzing different aspects of food behaviors, choices, and preferences. The main objective is to investigate the mechanisms through which time preferences and orientation to health are involved in individuals’ decisions related to food consumption. The thesis also contributes to the literature attempting to propose novel approaches to measure time preferences and health-orientation. The main results indicate that different time preferences are associated with different food preferences and evaluation of product attributes, thus highlighting the need to account for such factor in the economic study of obesity. Similarly, health-orientation affects food-related behaviors. In particular it seems to be positively associated with the use of nutritional information and to be able to affect preferences for different label formats.

Healthy food and/or supplements may be used in the context of a healthy lifestyle or as a means to compensate for an unhealthy lifestyle. Consumers are increasingly taking charge of their health and manipulate food choices or use dietary supplement regimes. By analysing usage across segments, marketers can determine the optimum audience for any specific health and wellness product. Marketers can develop marketing plans to the common motives, beliefs and behaviours of the optimal target segment, and communicate with them through common sources of influence with meaningful messages that speak to their motivations. Healthcare professionals can mount high quality, targeted education and intervention programmes for consumers by getting to know their clients' beliefs. It is, therefore, important to identify healthy food and supplement use of South African consumers. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine which demographic factors and other beliefs are associated with an individual's choice between the usage of supplements or the eating of healthy food. Subjects/Setting: A random sample of 1997 metropolitan consumers representative of the gender distribution, age distribution and population groups in South Africa was chosen. The data were weighted, so that they would be representative of the total South African metropolitan consumer population. Questionnaires consisting of 17 food related sections were designed by researchers in cooperation with business partners. One of the sections contained a number of statements about food, dietary supplements, health and disease. MARKINOR, a marketing research company, was contracted to collect the data. Consumers preferring healthy food were compared with supplement choosers with regard to demographic and belief factors. Explanatory variables included gender, age group, monthly income, race, living standard measure (LSM), education and children, as well as different eating habit and food related statements. Statistical analysis: The quantitative data produced by the survey were analysed by using the Statistica -programme in order to generate the relevant tabulations, descriptive statistics and statistical tests. Results: About 61% (n= 6 526) of the respondents reported healthy food preference, while 20% (n= 2 086) stated they preferred supplements. Especially males, people older than 50 years, individuals with a monthly income of R9 000 - R17 999, Indians, LSM 7 or 8 respondents, individuals with secondary schooling and people with no children indicated a preference for healthy food. These individuals indicated the belief that food is not only for enjoyment but also for health maintenance. The South African consumer preferring supplements included: females, 18 to 49 year olds, people with a monthly income of up to R2999, blacks, LSM 2, people with no or primary schooling and/or people with children. The main focus of dietary supplement choosers was the medicinal value of supplements and the enjoyment value of food. Applications/Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study was the first attempt to characterize the healthy food and supplement choosers in South Africa. Further research is needed to identify which supplements or healthy foods are used by South African consumers in order to ensure their health. It is recommended that a suitable scientific instrument be developed to this effect.
Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.