Cultural dimensions associated with food choice: A survey based multi-country study

Đjekić, Ilija; Bartkienė, Elena; Szűcs, Viktória; Tarcea, Monica; Klarin, Ivo; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Isoldi, Kathy K.; El-Kenawy, Ayman El-Meghawry; Ferreira, Vanessa Alves; Kļava, Dace; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Vittadini, Elena; Leal, Marcela; Frez-Muñoz, Lucía; Παπαγεωργίου, Μαρία; Guiné, Raquel

doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2021.100414

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Individual and collective social food practice behaviors among ethnic cultures have been explored by Bu et al . (2013) and recently by Djekic et al. (2021) in support of seminal and dichotomous global culture theories by Hofstede (1980), Senft et al.…”

Section: Modern Theories: Consumer Culturementioning

confidence: 88%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cultural food distancing: a conceptual discourse on the evolution of seminal to present and future models of traditional food practices

Feldman

Wunderlich²

2022

BFJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThis manuscript focuses on theoretical past, present and future models for defining food culture and cuisine, comparing these principles with contemporary literature evidence of transformative global food practices during public health and environmental crisis. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to explain the point at which traditional practices are discernible from the effects of modern technology, globalization, marketing and the virtualization of consumption. The paper explains how current local and global ecologies contribute to the retainment or disassembly of established culinary borders.Design/methodology/approachThis is a theoretical paper that highlights seminal and present discourse on food cultural practices. Furthermore, it underlines the cultural changes during environmental crises and whether these cultural transformations in food practices will be lasting. The authors suggest a perspective model for the future.FindingsDeciphering whether traditional foodways are moderated by modernity and environmental changes is very complex and multifactorial. This is likely nuanced by the availability of commodities and the steadfastness of particular cultures. Whether or not consumers embrace a new food product is likely contingent on their fundamental familiarity with and availability of the product's traditional components. The integrity of traditional foodstuffs will continue to be valued and demanded by broad groups of consumers into the foreseeable future.Research limitations/implicationsAs a primary objective, food producers, manufacturers and governments should not seek to actively diminish cultural borders and markets. Industry and governmental strategists should embrace and promote cultural food messages in any interventional strategies on household food security or marketing strategies and campaigns. The gathering of information from grassroot cultural groups about traditional food practices should ground the development of new policies and products.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the complexities surrounding traditional cuisines and food ways gives insight into the future of traditional food cultures and how they change. The food industry is undergoing profound transformation due to climate change; the decrease of arable land; environmental crisis, such as floods and droughts; war; food insecurity; aging populations; and chronic food-related diseases and disorders. Therefore, new food products are essential to adjust to these issues. However, the use and effectiveness of these foods would likely be enhanced if they were tailored with ingredients and techniques that have meaning to particular cultural groups.Social implicationsSocial connectivity, the shared experiences of eating together (and the contingent health benefits) may have been subject to contemporaneous or permanent change due to transformation in local and global food ecologies. Whether or not consumers embrace new food products may be contingent on their fundamental familiarity with its traditional components. The integrity of traditional foodstuffs is likely to continue to be valued and demanded by broad groups of consumers into the foreseeable future.Originality/valueSeminal food culture theories are still being utilized in recent publications to explain contemporary practices, particularly in times of crisis such as the recent pandemic. Current scholarship has indicated, to degrees, that links to traditional food practices may be strong, evolving or are becoming more obscure as they are incorporated into a global fabric. There are gaps in the literature that necessitate more exportation of the impact of environmental changes and health crisis on cultural and traditional food practices. This further raises questions about how the formative theories on food culture apply to modern and future food practices.

show abstract

Section: Modern Theories: Consumer Culturementioning

confidence: 88%

“…Recent scholarship has indicated, to more or less degrees, that links to traditional food practices may be strong, evolving or are becoming more obscure as they are incorporated into a global fabric (Sharma and Nagar, 2021; Muhialdin et al. , 2021; Steenkamp, 2019; Djekic et al. , 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural food distancing: a conceptual discourse on the evolution of seminal to present and future models of traditional food practices

Feldman

Wunderlich²

2022

BFJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…By providing tools to understand what people should eat, this type of work can contribute to the higher literacy of the population if appropriate educational programs and public health strategies are implemented. However, people's food choices are conditioned by many other factors, some related to personal traits, preferences, or cues, and others associated with social and cultural influences or even economic constraints [39][40][41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample

Florença

Ferreira

Inês³

et al. 2021

Foods

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Food myths are nutritional concepts poorly justified or even contradict existing scientific evidence that individuals take as the truth. Knowledge in nutrition is an important tool in tackling misinformation and in the promotion of adequate food choices. This study aimed to investigate the beliefs and perceptions of a sample of the Portuguese population regarding a series of food myths and facts, evaluating, consequently, the level of knowledge and the main sources of information. The research was conducted on a sample of 503 participants, using a questionnaire disclosed online, by email, and social networks, between May and June of 2021. Thirty statements, some true and others false, were analyzed to assess people’s perceptions. Based on the respondents’ answers, a score was calculated for each statement, allowing to differentiate the correct (positive score) from incorrect (negative score) perceptions. The results showed that most statements obtained positive scores, corresponding to correct perceptions. Moreover, the level of knowledge was measured, being very high for 21.7% of the participants and high for 42.1%. The main sources where the participants acquire nutritional information are scientific journals (43.3%), website of the Portuguese General Health Office (DGS) (31.4%), and technical books (31.0%), which is concordant with the level of trust in these sources. Hence, it was concluded that, despite the levels of nutritional knowledge, there are still several food myths that need to be debunked, through the proper channels, in order to promote healthy, balanced, and adequate eating behaviors.

show abstract

“…These variables have been selected due to the fact that there is positive correlation between consumer's perception towards the product quality and choice of store (Catherine and Magesh 2016). Additionally, customers from different countries are expected to have different purchasing behavior, and thus different perception towards RTE foods (Djekic et al 2021). Demographic characteristics and habits regarding place of buying RTE foods are presented in Table 2 and 3, respectively.…”

Section: Cluster Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to previously reported geographical unique habits in food consumption and purchase (Chen and Antonelli 2020;Djekic et al 2021), we hypothesized that survey participants would exhibit differences in attitudes and practices towards chilled RTE food. Therefore, a cross-national consumers' perception was studied that included 9 countries to identify customer segments and its characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumer attitudes and perceptions towards chilled ready-to-eat foods: a multi-national study

Šmigić

Özilgen

Gómez‐López

et al. 2023

J Consum Prot Food Saf

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding consumers' behavior and their handling of high-risk foods at home is essential for reducing the number of foodborne illnesses. This study shows the results of a cross-national analysis of consumers' perception from nine countries, and the identification of customers' clusters and its characteristics in order to understand customers' behavior, and to build safe chilled ready-to-eat (RTE) foods prevention strategies. The cluster analysis resulted in two clusters: (1) "Precautious consumers" characterized by the orientation towards pre-packed RTE foods, with consumers mainly coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. Their attitudes and self-reported practices may be categorized as less risky in terms of food-borne illnesses connected with the consumption of RTE foods; (2) "Unconcerned consumers" preferred cutting and slicing RTE foods freshly at the point of purchase, usually sold at the delicatessen department in a supermarket or at open markets. Those consumers mostly came from Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia and their attitudes and self-reported practices were riskier. These results allow a better understating of what characterizes consumers of RTE foods in different countries.

show abstract

Cultural dimensions associated with food choice: A survey based multi-country study

Cited by 19 publications

References 51 publications

Cultural food distancing: a conceptual discourse on the evolution of seminal to present and future models of traditional food practices

Cultural food distancing: a conceptual discourse on the evolution of seminal to present and future models of traditional food practices

Food Myths or Food Facts? Study about Perceptions and Knowledge in a Portuguese Sample

Consumer attitudes and perceptions towards chilled ready-to-eat foods: a multi-national study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About