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Functional foods presumably enable the consumer to lead a healthier life without changing eating habits. Whether consumers accept this proposition or not is potentially influenced by their perceptions of the healthiness of the processing methods, enrichment components, food-types, and health claims used in the production and marketing of functional foods. Because consumers may perceive functional...
Functional foods provide a new way of expressing healthiness in food choices. The objective of this study was to apply an indirect measure to explore what kind of impressions people form of users of functional foods. Respondents (n=350) received one of eight versions of a shopping list and rated the buyer of the foods on 66 bipolar attributes on 7-point scales. The shopping lists had either healthy...
The widespread use of dietary supplements and so-called 'functional foods' is thought to be partially motivated by self-control of health. However, whilst consumers want foods associated with well-being or disease prevention, they are unlikely to be willing to compromise on taste or technology. This presents a dilemma for promoters of functional foods.Middle-aged consumers' intentions to consume functional...
This paper reports the results of conjoint analysis of communications about functional foods, run with women aged 40 and above, using messages found on the Internet. Each of 147 women evaluated 60 concepts, comprising 2-4 phrases per concept, with the phrases dealing with an aspect of functional foods. Three respondent segments emerged, based on the pattern of individual utilities, 'health optimists'...
Two studies are reported, which aim to strengthen the scientific underpinning of strategic decisions regarding functional food development, as to (1) which health benefits to claim, (2) with which product (category), and (3) in which communication format. The first exploratory study is a secondary analysis of 10 different health claims systematically combined with 10 different food carriers to evaluate...
This study reports the results of eight focus group interviews with post-menopausal women (50–59 years, N=73) in Denmark and United Kingdom regarding their views on heart disease among women and the potential acceptability of functional foods as a means of prevention.Although, heart disease was recognised as a serious health problem and its occurrence among women recognised, it was predominantly conceived...
The aim of this study was to investigate some Swedish dieticians’, registered nurses’ and physicians’ thoughts about functional foods and their willingness to recommend such foods to patients. The health-care professionals were recruited to participate in one group interview with each profession. Participants were recruited through mailed invitations from primary care centers in Uppsala County district...
There is an increasing array of functional foods available that are designed to confer health benefits. However, individuals’ worries about new technology and modernity may influence the acceptance of these products. In this study, we investigated how modern health worries influence attitudes and decisions about functional foods. We asked participants (n=390) to rate pictures of products with either...
The number of food products containing extra or reduced levels of specific ingredients (e.g. extra calcium) that bring particular health benefits (e.g. stronger bones) is still increasing. Nutrition- and health-related (NH) claims promoting these ingredient levels and their health benefit differ in terms of the (legal) strength with which the claim is brought forward and the specific wording of the...
One of the recent phenomena in contemporary discussion of eating is ‘functional foods’, i.e. foods marketed as promoting health or reducing the risk of disease. This article analyses lay understandings of health-promoting foods in Finland by examining the ways in which middle-aged health-oriented consumers make sense of functional foods in the context of healthy eating. The article is based on an...
The aims of the present study were to study the effect of different carriers and enrichments on the perceived healthiness and willingness to try functional foods; and to evaluate the effect of age, gender and motives underlying food choice. Participants had to evaluate different functional food concepts and had to answer a food choice questionnaire. Results showed that carrier products had the largest...
In order to assess the influence of nutritional knowledge on perceived healthiness and willingness to try functional foods, 104 consumers filled out a Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire and answered a conjoint task. Participants had to evaluate 16 concepts consisting of combinations of carrier products (yogurt, milk desserts, pan bread and mayonnaise) and nutritional modifications (regular product,...
The goal of the present study was to examine factors that influence willingness to buy functional foods. Data were collected from a representative mail survey in Switzerland (n=249). Results suggest that consumers are more inclined to buy functional foods with physiological health claims compared with psychological health claims. Health claims were most positively evaluated when attached to a product...
This paper applied conjoint analysis to elicit consumer preferences over attributes of functional foods and nutraceuticals using probiotics as the functional compound of interest. Data were gathered through a mall intercept survey in Guelph, Canada. Cluster analysis and chi-square tests were used to examine the relationship between respondents’ characteristics and preferences for product variants...
The present study focused on the role of the Health Belief Model (HBM) in predicting willingness to use functional breads, across four European countries: UK (N=552), Italy (N=504), Germany (N=525) and Finland (N=513). The behavioural evaluation components of the HBM (the perceived benefits and barriers conceptualized respectively as perceived healthiness and pleasantness) and the health motivation...
This paper reports on consumers’ reactions towards calcium-enriched fruit juice, omega-3 enriched spread and fibre-enriched cereals, each with a nutrition claim, health claim and reduction of disease risk claim. Cross-sectional data were collected in April 2006 from a sample of 341 consumers in Belgium. Consumers’ reactions to the carrier product, functional ingredient and claim combinations were...
The aim of the present study was to explore some Swedish consumers’ impressions of and perceived need of functional foods. Data were collected through 10 focus groups. A total of 46 individuals participated (31 females, 18–75 years, and 16 males, 18–78 years). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed by the use of content analysis. Uncertainties—e.g., if functional foods are normal foods...
Consumers perceive functional foods as member of the particular food category to which they belong. In this context, apart from health and sensory characteristics, non-sensory factors such as packaging might have a key role on determining consumers’ purchase decisions regarding functional foods. The aims of the present work were to study the influence of different package attributes on consumer willingness...
Liking of a particular food after repeated consumption may be reduced, limiting the effectiveness of health-functional foods requiring on-going consumption to deliver their benefits. This study examined the effect of repeated consumption of foods containing the novel ingredient, Australian sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) kernel fibre (LKFibre) on sensory acceptability in the dietary intervention...
The new EU regulation on nutrition and health claims states that claims can be permitted only if they can be expected to be understood by consumers. Investigating determinants of consumer understanding of health claims has therefore become an important topic. Understanding of a health claim on a yoghurt product was investigated with a sample of 720 category users in Germany. Health claim understanding...
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