Can processed food really be organic? A consumer perspective

Abstract

• Objectives / Research Questions The public regulation of the European organic label, which introduces principles applicable to organic processing in general, has several weaknesses: one of them is that the compatibility between processing and organic principles has been assessed from the perspective of food science, with little consideration given to the consumers’ point of view. The present research aims to investigate consumer expectations concerning organic processing, which requires understanding their representations in a context of very imperfect information. How do consumers perceive processing in the case of organic products? • Methodology The analysis of thirty interviews provides keys to the conceptual interpretation of the criteria that consumers use to assess the extent to which processed food can be described as organic. • Results