Consumer perceptions of healthy cereal products and production methods
Abstract
Using a survey, this study investigated public perceptions relating to different healthy grain foods (bread, pasta and biscuits) and how these perceptions are influenced by gender, nationality, base product (staple vs. fun food), type of health claim (general vs. specific) and people's perceptions associated with different production methods. Two thousand and ninety-four (50.4% women, 49.5% men) members of the public from the UK, Italy, Finland and Germany completed the survey questionnaire. The participants were over 18 years of age and were solely or jointly responsible for the family's grocery shopping. Results confirmed that similar to other functional foods, there were gender and country differences in people's perceptions of benefits relating to functional grain products. Men perceived more benefit in products with specific health claims and women in products with general health claims. However, when it was personally relevant, men's levels of perceived benefit in products with general health claims were equally high as women's. Further, modification of staple foods was perceived as more beneficial than fun foods and people preferred processes such as fortification and traditional cross-breeding to others such as genetic modification. In addition, the differences in perceived benefits between foods with general and specific health claims were largest for staple foods than for hedonistic foods.
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Attitudes towards functional food products can be location, population and culture specific, even among Western countries.
“Recognising that attitudes towards functional food products can be location, population and culture specific [37,44], even among Western countries [45,46]”
From The association of demographic characteristics and food choice motives with the consumption of functional foods in emerging adults (2020) · cites this paper as [46]
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- Authors
- Dean, M., Shepherd, R., Arvola, A., Vassallo, M., Winkelmann, M., Claupein, E., Lähteenmäki, L., Raats, M. M., & Saba, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Surrey (GB)
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (FI)
- Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Dean, M.
- Venue
- Journal of Cereal Science
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-11
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 188-196
- ISSN
- 0733-5210 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2030290939
- Cited by
- 137
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 3.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Cereal Science (publishedVersion)
- Open Research (University of Surrey) (submittedVersion)
- Surrey Research Insight Open Access (The University of Surrey) (submittedVersion)
- OpenAgrar (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Food composition and properties
- Keywords
- consumer perception, functional foods, health claims, bread, pasta, cookies, gender differences, staple foods, food production methods, fortifications, genetic modification, crossbreeding, perceived benefits, cross-national comparison
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