Assessing the role of trust and food-related attitudes and consumer traits on risk perception towards sustainable innovative food processing technologies
Over the past decades, considerable efforts have been made to develop innovative food technologies that provide safe and nutritious food, with positive sensory attributes that meet consumer demands. However, the introduction of new technologies for food processing may generate concern among consumers, leading to low acceptance. This study aims to evaluate consumers’ acceptance, trust and risk perception towards sustainable innovative food processing technologies, such as high hydrostatic pressure (HPP), ultrasound (US), non-thermal plasma (NTP) and pulsed electric field (PEF), in order to identify paths to increase consumer trust in these new food products resulting from these technologies. The research was carried out in three countries: Portugal, Germany, and the United Kingdom, recruiting over 400 consumers per country. Based on the Ecological Framework, the survey presents 12 constructs (eg. Food Neophobia, Trust, Perceived Risk). Participants socio-demographic information was also collected. The application of regression models yielded the main significant factors affecting perceived risk for consumers, within each country and technology. Besides the relevance of the common mediating role of Trust, there are other common factors for the three countries, such as Food technology neophobia, Perceived relative severity and hygienic X unhygienic. However, there are other factors present emphasizing the peculiarities and differences between processing technologies and countries. This shows that the same communication approach should not be used for all countries and that it should be tailored in accordance with the food technology.
Publish date 2025-11-18
Author(s) Silva, A. R. A., Rocha, C., Lima, R. C., Aganovic, K., Methven L., Cunha, L. M.
