Volume 40, Part B, March 2015, Pages 304–315
Tenth Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium
- a Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
- b IRTA-Food Technology, XaRTA, Finca Camps i Armet, E-17121 Monells, Spain
- c REQUIMTE/DGAOT, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
- d REQUIMTE/DCeT, Universidade Aberta, Rua do Ameal 752, 4200-055 Porto, Portugal
- e Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos 149, Cidade Universitária 21949-909, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
- f SFR QUASAV 4207, Groupe ESA, UPSP GRAPPE, 55 rue Rabelais, Angers, France
- g Embrapa Food Technology, Av. das Américas, 29501, CEP 23.020-470, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
- Received 8 October 2013, Revised 31 May 2014, Accepted 1 June 2014, Available online 9 June 2014
Highlights
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- Consumers’ associations with food-related wellbeing were explored in five countries.
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- Wellbeing in a food-related context was perceived as a multidimensional construct.
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- It was related to a positive condition of physical health, body functioning and emotional state.
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- The characteristics of food products which affect perceived wellbeing were identified.
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- Significant differences among countries were found.
Abstract
Consumers’
perception of wellbeing in a food context can affect food choices and
might provide a more holistic evaluation of products than overall liking
or healthfulness scores. However, considering that wellbeing is a broad
concept which lacks of a unique definition, it is necessary to explore
how consumers perceive wellbeing in a food-related context. The present
work aims at exploring consumers’ associations with wellbeing in a
food-related context, taking into account the views of consumers from
five countries: Brazil, France, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay. A total of
755 consumers were asked to complete a questionnaire comprising five
open-ended questions about foods and wellbeing. The elicited terms were
translated into English, coded and grouped into categories. The
frequency of mention of the categories was determined and differences
among countries were evaluated. In the five countries wellbeing was
mainly associated with calmness, health, happiness, food products,
positive emotions and satisfaction with specific aspects of life. The
effects of foods on wellbeing were strongly related to physical health,
pleasure and emotional aspects. Meanwhile, consumers regarded sensory
characteristics, manufacturing processes, nutritional composition and
context of food consumption as the main factors underlying food-related
wellbeing. Vegetables, fruits, fish and seafood, meat products, grains
and cereals, and dairy products were the main foods recognized as
positive for wellbeing, whereas foods high in fat, salt and sugar, meat
products, junk food and fried food were perceived as harmful.
Significant differences among countries were identified in the frequency
of mention of the categories elicited in the five questions, suggesting
that culture affected consumers’ associations with wellbeing.
Keywords
- Wellness;
- Consumer studies;
- Free listing;
- Word association;
- Qualitative studies
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