Food Quality and Preference最新文献

{"title":"The nature and origins of crossmodal associations to astringent solutions and basic tastes","authors":"Supreet Saluja ,&nbsp;Talia Ciscato ,&nbsp;Anjoli Mistry ,&nbsp;Thomas Hummel ,&nbsp;Charles Spence ,&nbsp;Richard J. Stevenson","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105518","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105518","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>People match gustatory (basic tastes) and non-gustatory stimuli (e.g., colors, shapes, and textures) to each other in a reliable manner. Yet, whether other attributes of the experience of flavor, such as, for example, astringency also evidence such reliable crossmodal mappings is currently unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess whether individuals make reliable crossmodal mappings between astringent solutions and non-gustatory stimuli (e.g., colors, shapes, hand-felt roughness/smoothness), and to examine the basis of any mappings observed. Participants sampled 6 solutions – astringent and 5 basic tastants – at 2 concentrations each (low, high), and for each selected their best matching color, texture, and shape (in three separate counterbalanced blocks). After making their selections, the participants evaluated the valence of the solutions, their colors, textures, and shapes, as well as the qualities/intensities of the solutions, and their confidence in the matches they made. Participants reported the rationale for their color-, texture- and shape matches at the end of the study. Color, texture, and shape selections evidenced consensual mappings, and participants were generally confident in all matches to a comparable level. Whilst people typically reported that their color matches were driven by real world associations (e.g., yellow chosen for sour, as lemons are yellow and sour), followed by valence (liking; e.g., pink for sweet, as both are liked), texture and shape matches to solutions were more attributable to intensity (e.g., rougher textures, selected for rougher feeling [e.g., astringent] solutions) as well as valence. Implications for flavor binding and marketing are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 105518"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143808473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Explaining the adoption of sustainable diets and healthy diets among German consumers via an extended comprehensive action determination model","authors":"Daniela Moirano,&nbsp;Joerg Koenigstorfer","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study builds upon and extends the abridged comprehensive action determination model to predict self-reported eating behaviors among a sample of German consumers. It focuses on two related but conceptually distinct facets of eating behaviors: healthy eating and sustainable eating. Specifically, the role of health consciousness, attitude, perceived behavioral control, and social and personal norms for the adoption of healthy diets, as well as the role of environmental concern, perceived consumer effectiveness, awareness of need, self-efficacy, attitude, perceived behavioral control, and social and personal norms for the adoption of sustainable diets are assessed. A longitudinal design was applied and data from 620 German residents were collected, with the two data collections being 4 weeks apart. A path analysis showed that (i) attitude, social and personal norms relate positively to healthy eating; (ii) social and personal norms but not attitude relate positively to sustainable eating; and (iii) perceived behavioral control is unrelated to both healthy and sustainable eating. The variables explain 35 % of the variance in healthy eating and 27 % of the variance in sustainable eating. This study highlights that respective beliefs and norms predict both facets of eating behaviors. These predictors can be influenced by public policy campaigns, media, and communications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 105526"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143783822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Persuasion strategies of convenience food labels: Integrating typeface design and brand certification through the Lens of a dual processing model","authors":"Zibo Xu ,&nbsp;Yue Luo ,&nbsp;Changcong Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105524","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105524","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The exponential growth of the market for convenience foods has added facilitation to many people's lives; however, consumers continue to hold mixed views regarding the quality and safety of such foods. Marketers should explore persuasive strategies to counter these negative perceptions and encourage the consumption of convenience foods. This study conducted two online experiments from the perspective of visual persuasion and design to examine the effects of typeface and the inclusion of brand certification in label designs on consumers' purchase intentions, guided by the dual processing model. The findings indicate that handwritten labels are more effective than machine-written labels are in enhancing consumers' purchase intentions of convenience foods. These enhanced purchase intentions are related to stronger perceptions of a human presence and confidence in the product when handwritten typeface is used. In addition, a moderated serial mediation analysis revealed that brand certification labels, which serve as a traceable source of product quality and credibility, positively influence consumers' perceptions of human presence, further boosting consumers' confidence in a product and their purchase intention. The positive effect of handwritten typeface is particularly pronounced when a label does not include a brand certification, and the presence of such a certification tends to weaken the effect of typeface. These findings clarify the application of the dual processing model and offer theoretical insights and practical guidance for packaging design and marketing strategies for convenience foods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 105524"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143760431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soft claims unwrapped: How they drive Preadolescents' food choices","authors":"Alazne Arraztio-Cordoba ,&nbsp;Rafael A. Araque-Padilla ,&nbsp;Cristian M. Olarte-Sanchez ,&nbsp;Maria Jose Montero-Simo","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the impact of Soft Claims—indirect or vague packaging messages emphasizing a product's healthiness or benefits—on adolescent food choices, addressing a significant gap in consumer research. While prior studies have focused on adults, this research examines the influence of these claims on adolescents aged 12–15 using the Reactivity to Embedded Food Cues in Advertising Model (REFCAM). A within-subject experimental design exposed 565 participants to 60 stimuli across five food categories. Results reveal that Soft Claims significantly increase product selection regardless of healthiness, with no differences observed between emotional (e.g., “Discover the art of enjoyment”) and health-related claims (e.g., “Your most nutritious drink”). Contrary to expectations, gender and perceived income did not moderate these effects, and the presence of claims equally influenced the selection of healthier and unhealthier products. These findings extend the REFCAM model by highlighting the uniform effectiveness of Soft Claims across emotional and cognitive dimensions, suggesting that young consumers process these messages primarily at a surface level. The study underscores the potential risk of a “health halo” effect created by these claims, which could mislead adolescents into favoring less healthy options. This research provides theoretical insights into the mechanisms of advertising susceptibility among younger audiences and practical guidance for policymakers. Stricter regulations are needed to mitigate the influence of misleading marketing practices and promote healthier food choices, contributing to the fight against childhood obesity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 105521"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143817274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sensory in the wild: How context and category labels shape liking and sensory perception of hop waters","authors":"Jane Jun-Xin Ong,&nbsp;Julien Delarue","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Context and labelling have been shown to greatly influence food preferences, and this is thought to be due to the way these extrinsic factors prime expectations of consumers. However, consumers may have less preconceived expectations from these factors in a novel product category. To examine the impact of different contexts and category labels on the liking and sensory perception of hop waters, we tested two contexts (an event context and on-the-go context) and two category labels (sparkling water and hop water) which resulted in a total of four conditions. 243 participants were assigned to one of the four conditions and asked to rate the liking of three hop waters and answer a check-all-that-apply question. Although context and category label did not affect the liking scores of the hop waters, both context and category label affected the perception of the products. Hop waters that were labelled as hop water and/or consumed in the event context had increased perception of beer-like characteristics, while hop waters that were labelled as sparkling water and/or consumed in the on-the-go context had increased perception of fruity and sweet characteristics. On the other hand, demographic factors like age and frequency of consumption of sparkling water affected liking scores but not the perception of the hop waters. Results suggest that although extrinsic factors do not influence liking in novel product categories, they can impact product perception, which has implications for marketing of products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 105525"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143829686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Do consumers prefer nearby ugly food? Examining the role of spatial-social distance in suboptimal produce preference","authors":"Decong Tang ,&nbsp;Manhua Zheng ,&nbsp;Weilin Chen ,&nbsp;Heliang Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105516","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105516","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Visually suboptimal produce refers to produce with certain aesthetic imperfections. In contrast to premium produce, consumers often underestimate the perceived quality of suboptimal produce, leading to reluctance to purchase and resulting in considerable waste and subsequent environmental issues. We observed that production information for suboptimal produce may contain elements of psychological distance, which could serve as a novel factor in promoting consumer purchases of these products. To explore this, we conducted three online experiments to investigate the impact of spatial and social distances on consumers’ purchase intentions. Drawing on Construal Level Theory (CLT) and validated through experiments, our findings indicate that consumers are more likely to choose suboptimal produce with psychologically proximal. Additionally, psychological ownership and perceived quality serve as sequential mediators between psychological distance and purchase intentions, a psychological mechanism that is unique to suboptimal produce (i.e., this effect does not apply to premium produce). Furthermore, we incorporated the concept of information framing, a commonly used tool in previous studies, into the discussion of psychological mechanisms to further clarify its operational process. The results provide new theoretical and practical insights for the market promotion of suboptimal produce.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 105516"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143760432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the Hebrew version of the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire","authors":"Shiri Sherf-Dagan ,&nbsp;Roni Aviram-Friedman ,&nbsp;Vital Bahar ,&nbsp;Gal Churi ,&nbsp;Assaf Buch ,&nbsp;Tali Sinai ,&nbsp;Vered Kaufman-Shriqui ,&nbsp;Ilanit Mahler ,&nbsp;Netalie Shloim ,&nbsp;Graham Finlayson","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105520","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105520","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and aims</h3><div>The Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire (LFPQ) is a computerized task assessing liking, wanting, and preferences for foods categorized by fat content and taste into four groups; high-fat savory (HFSA), low-fat savory (LFSA), high-fat sweet (HFSW), and low-fat sweet (LFSW). This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate a Hebrew LFPQ (LFPQ-He) version.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The study included two phases. Phase one involved translating the task into Hebrew, selecting and photographing food images, and validating them among 153 participants from the general population (50 % women, mean age and BMI of 43.0 ± 14.3 years and 26.2 ± 4.8 kg/m²). Phase two evaluated the psychometric properties of the LFPQ-He with 20 metabolic bariatric surgery candidates (70 % women, mean age and BMI of 43.8 ± 13.9 years and 44.5 ± 6.2 kg/m²) and 39 healthy medical center employees (79.5 % women, mean age and BMI of 40.5 ± 10.0 years and 21.7 ± 1.9 kg/m²). Data collection included demographics, anthropometrics, the Power of Food Scale (PFS), and the LFPQ-He task, which was re-completed by the medical center employees after a week.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Convergent validity showed low to moderate positive correlations between the PFS total and its subscale score and HFSA-related variables, and low negative correlations with LFSW-related and LFSA-related variables. Known-group validity results were non-significant, but trends aligned with expected preferences. Test-retest reliability demonstrated intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.451 (95 %CI: 0.153, 0.674) to 0.901 (95 %CI: 0.817, 0.948), reflecting moderate to good reliability.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The LFPQ-He showed acceptable psychometric properties, supporting its use for assessing food preferences and hedonic food-reward in future studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 105520"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143825876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Consumers' perceptions of plant-based alternatives relative to the foods they directly imitate","authors":"Jonathan Kershaw ,&nbsp;Alissa Nolden ,&nbsp;Lydia Ellinger ,&nbsp;Nomzamo N. Dlamini","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105519","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105519","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant-based alternatives (PBAs) that look and taste like animal-derived products have developed rapidly in recent years in response to growing interest in sustainable alternatives. However, PBAs face challenges meeting consumer expectations and mimicking the sensory profile of animal-derived products. Thus, consumers generally view PBAs as a separate category rather than animal-derived alternatives. The objective of this study was to characterize how consumers perceive PBAs (meat and dairy) and compare them to the animal-derived products they imitate. A total of 271 adults completed an online questionnaire, where they viewed food images (PBA, animal-derived and control products), reported expected tastiness, purchase intention, and endorsed descriptors using check-all-that-apply. Person-related factors influencing PBA perception were also assessed. PBAs were rated significantly lower in expected tastiness and purchase intention. Correspondence analysis confirmed that PBAs were perceived as distinct from their AD counterparts, and that PBAs were associated with the terms unnatural, eco-friendly, modern, adventurous, expensive, and bland, while animal-derived products largely separated by perceived healthiness. A penalty-lift analysis revealed that processed, unnatural, and bland were the top drivers of low PBA purchase intention. Furthermore, participants' trust in the food industry (positively) and food technology neophobia (negatively) predicted PBA acceptance. Together, this study confirms perceived taste as a PBA adoption barrier while also identifying unnaturalness and fear of food technology as important challenges. In addition to pursuing taste improvements, PBA developers should consider strategies to address the unnatural and processed perception of these products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 105519"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143734920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Group sequential and adaptive group sequential tests in sensory and consumer studies","authors":"Michael Meyners","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105523","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105523","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sequential methods have been suggested in sensory and consumer science before but have seen limited applications so far. This can be attributed to the fact that only sequential probability ratio tests have been described in detail, which are impractical as data are rarely collected and analyzed one data point at a time. As an alternative, group sequential methods collect and analyze data in batches, which better reflects common practice in consumer and sensory studies. Scarcer budgets require more efficient use of resources, and (adaptive) group sequential methods can play a significant role to achieve this. An abundance of related methods has been proposed primarily in the biometrical area, ranging from equal group sizes over different group sizes to adaptive designs which allow for modification of sample sizes or other aspects for subsequent study stages based on interim analysis results. Also, early stopping for futility is an option in case initial data are not promising; it is particularly useful when little is known about the (relative) performance of products upon planning the study.</div><div>We briefly review key concepts and methods, and we illustrate these for the simple but important example of paired preference tests with the objective to show superiority. Other applications in sensory and consumer research like, e.g., sequential monadic designs can follow the same concepts but might be technically more complex. Entertaining an interim analysis generally comes at the cost of lower power or increased maximum sample size. The benefit lies in the potentially significant savings when early data are clear enough either to support the desired outcome of the study, or to indicate that there is little hope for the study to succeed. Adaptive designs also offer the opportunity to fine-tune the final sample size based on early results, such as to limit the effort to what is really needed, or to expand on the effort to save a study from likely failure. We show how and why the different approaches are technically robust and what benefits they can bring to consumer and sensory studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 105523"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143748057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring consumer acceptance of grass-derived proteins in the UK: A structural equation modelling approach","authors":"Anne Wambui Mumbi ,&nbsp;Sara Arancibia ,&nbsp;Daniel May ,&nbsp;Helen Pittson ,&nbsp;Karl Behrendt ,&nbsp;Adeboye Akindoyin Awomuti ,&nbsp;Frank Vriesekoop","doi":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Grass-derived proteins, as a novel and sustainable source of nutrition, offer potential solutions for food security and environmental sustainability but face challenges in consumer adoption. This study investigates the factors influencing consumer acceptance and intentions to consume grass-derived proteins in the United Kingdom using a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach to capture the complex relationships among psychological, social, and product-related variables. Data were collected via a cross-sectional survey of 990 participants, capturing attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, facilitators and food neophobia. The findings reveal that facilitators such as perceived health benefits, nutritional value, and safety significantly enhance consumer willingness to adopt grass-derived ingredients. Further, negative attitudes reduce positive attitudes towards meat preferences which in turn leads to positive intentions to consume grass-derived proteins. A multigroup analysis of the meat avoiders-reducers and regular meat consumers reveals different pathways influencing their behavioural intentions. Facilitators emerge as the strongest predictors of intention for both groups, but differences in the strength of pathways underscore the need for tailored marketing and policy interventions. For avoiders-reducers, direct pathways from facilitators to intention dominate, while indirect pathways involving attitudes towards meat hold minimal influence.</div><div>Conversely, meat consumers exhibit stronger resistance tied to cultural perceptions of grass-derived products. These findings suggest emphasizing strategies to enhance consumer familiarity and address sensory concerns while leveraging the environmental and health benefits of grass-derived proteins. By addressing group-specific drivers and barriers, these efforts can foster broader acceptance of sustainable food innovations, contributing to global goals for food security and environmental sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":322,"journal":{"name":"Food Quality and Preference","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 105527"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143734939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}