What Is "Natural"? Consumer Responses to Selected Ingredients
Edgar Chambers1, Edgar Chambers2, Mauricio Castro3
1Center for Sensory Analysis and Consumer Behavior, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. echamber@ksu.edu.
Foods (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 26, 2018
Summary
Consumer perception of "natural" food is subjective due to the lack of a legal definition. Familiarity with ingredients, chemical-sounding names, and consumer age significantly influence naturalness judgments, while GMO preference does not.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Consumer Behavior
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Growing consumer interest in "natural" foods.
- Absence of a legal definition for "natural" in the United States.
- Consumers rely on personal perceptions to define "natural".
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate consumer perceptions of naturalness regarding food ingredients.
- To identify factors influencing the determination of an ingredient as "natural".
Main Methods:
- Survey of 630 consumers (50% male, 50% female) using a national online database.
- Analysis of consumer perceptions of 20 selected ingredients.
- Statistical analysis using percentages and chi-square tests.
Main Results:
- No single ingredient was perceived as natural by over 69% of respondents.
- Ingredient familiarity emerged as a significant factor in naturalness perception.
- Chemical-sounding ingredient names and consumer age impacted naturalness judgments.
- No significant correlation found between GMO preference and naturalness perception.
Conclusions:
- Consumer understanding of "natural" in food is complex and influenced by familiarity and naming conventions.
- Ingredient characteristics and consumer demographics play a role in defining food naturalness.
- Further research is needed to understand the nuances of natural food perception.
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