UK report: Functional foods scepticism remains high
The 89-page report, which collated and analysed studies investigating consumer attitudes to emerging technologies in foods, found some functional foods categories were winning over consumers more readily than others, with fibre and yoghrut products highlighted as examples.
While men were the more sceptical, certain foods won more favour with them. One of the studies that looked into trends in the UK, Finland, Italy and Germany, found men perceived more benefits in cholesterol-lowering foods than women, while women perceived more benefits in fibre-added foods than did men.
Many studies, many views
One report cited in the review authored by Brook Lyndhurst found Finns were more positive about functional foods than Americans with strong Finnish government support of functional foods deemed to be an important factor. Yet another study found US attitudes to functional foods were more positive than in Europe.
Other studies showed consumers don’t perceive functional foods as a broad category but have very differing views about individual sub-categories and foods. For instance, staple foods and foods with a healthy image were seen as the most popular conduits for functional ingredients, with physiological health claims preferred over psychological and cosmetic claims.
A logical connect between the type of food and health claim was vital. One study found “that the difference in people’s perceptions of how beneficial added fibre and lowered cholesterol were, was largest when the base product was bread, and smallest when the base product was biscuits.”
Another study found consumer attitudes to functional foods was influenced by their attitudes to nutraceuticals. “Respondents using dietary supplements or nutraceuticals were more likely to have consumed or bought at least one of the seven functional products listed in their questionnaire, in comparison to those not using either.”
The relative novelty of functional foods meant attitudes were still evolving and would likely stabilise as they became more familiar to greater numbers of consumers.
Naturalness is a winner with consumers, and so the “more natural the combination of product and functional ingredient appears, the more positively it is likely to be perceived”.
One study noted a natural bias that meant scepticism was raised toward probiotics, folic acid and, in particular, plant sterols, but naturally fortified products like fibre-enriched bread or probiotic bread were viewed more favourable.
Dietetic foods are more likely to be accepted by families that have experienced illnesses.
Health professionals were the most trusted source of information, and the media the most common source.
“Understandably, people are wary when they’re not sure about the benefits and risks,” said Clair Baynton, the FSA head of novel foods, additives and supplements.
Aside from functional foods, the research looked into nanotechnologies, synthetic biology, GM food and crops, cloning, irradiation and novel food processes.
