What Do Consumers Think About Foods Processed by Ultraviolet Radiation and Ultrasound?
Maria Lúcia G. Monteiro,
Rosires Deliza,
Eliane T. Mársico,
Marcela de Alcantara,
Isabele P. L. de Castro,
Carlos A. Conte-Junior
Affiliations
Maria Lúcia G. Monteiro
Center for Food Analysis (NAL), Technological Development Support Laboratory (LADETEC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, Brazil
Rosires Deliza
Embrapa Food Technology, Rio de Janeiro 23020-470, Brazil
Eliane T. Mársico
Graduate Program in Veterinary Hygiene (PPGHV), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Niterói, Rio de Janeiro 24220-000, Brazil
Marcela de Alcantara
CNPq-PDJ/Embrapa Food Technology, Rio de Janeiro 23020-470, Brazil
Isabele P. L. de Castro
Graduate Program in Food Science (PPGCAL), Institute of Chemistry (IQ), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro 21941-909, Brazil
Carlos A. Conte-Junior
Center for Food Analysis (NAL), Technological Development Support Laboratory (LADETEC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, Brazil
This study aimed to investigate Brazilian consumers’ perception concerning foods processed by ultraviolet (UV) radiation and ultrasound (US) and define consumer segments considering their socioeconomic characteristics and eating habits towards industrialized products through free word association tasks answered by 1004 participants via an online platform. UV- and US-treated foods were more frequently related to unfamiliar words/terms (21.51 and 36.95%) and negative associations (36.25 and 26.70%) than positive ones (29.89 and 24.20%), respectively. Unfamiliarity and health risk concerns were more reported for US-treated foods by women aged 18–25 and ≥46 with low income, and low and frequent industrialized products consumption, as well as for UV-treated foods by consumers ≤35 years old with low and medium income, and low and frequent industrialized products consumption. This indicates that more clear and trustworthy information is needed before introducing these products in the Brazilian market, mainly for potential target consumer groups identified in this study.
