Current Trends in Multidisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Consumer Preference and Acceptance of Food Products

Abstract

Acceptance and preference of the sensory properties of foods are among the most important criteria determining food choice. Sensory perception and our response to food products and finally food choice itself are affected by a myriad of intrinsic as well as extrinsic factors. The pressing question is, how do these factors specifically affect our acceptance and preference for foods, both in and of themselves, and in combination in various contexts, both fundamental and applied? In addition, which factors overall play the largest role in how we perceive and behave towards food in daily life? Finally, how can these factors be utilized to affect our preferences and final acceptance of real food and food products from industrial production and beyond for healthier eating? A closer look at trends in research showcasing the influence that these factors and our senses have on our perception and affective response to food products and our food choices is timely. Thus, in this Special Issue collection “Consumer Preferences and Acceptance of Food Products”, we bring together articles which encompass the wide scope of multidisciplinary research in the space related to the determination of key factors involved linked to fundamental interactions, cross-modal effects in different contexts and eating scenarios, as well as studies that utilize unique study design approaches and methodologies.

Explaining Chinese Consumers’ Green Food Purchase Intentions during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour

“…Moreover, some nonnegligible limitations of applying TPB exist, and therefore, various refinements and extensions of TPB theory have been suggested to improve its effectiveness and applicability [20,21]. It is necessary to use multidisciplinary approaches for better understanding consumers' food preferences and acceptances in different contexts and eating scenarios [22]. Consequently, certain important factors related to consumer behaviours during a pandemic should be investigated and validated to establish an updated green food purchase intention model.…”

Acute Effects of Split Pea-Enriched White Pan Bread on Postprandial Glycemic and Satiety Responses in Healthy Volunteers—A Randomized Crossover Trial

“…Sensory evaluations revealed that all bread samples fortified with regular and Revtech heat-treated pea flours were comparable to the standard white wheat bread. These are very encouraging results as acceptance and preference of the sensory properties of reformulated food products are two of the major determinants of food choice [ 86 ]. There were no statistically significant differences in the aroma, flavor, and color acceptability between USYP, RT0%, RT10%, and the control 100%W.…”

The Impact of Mood, Familiarity, Acceptability, Sensory Characteristics and Attitude on Consumers’ Emotional Responses to Chocolates

“…A high acceptability of food products evokes a positive emotional experience, whilst a low acceptability of food products evokes a negative emotional experience. Measures such as acceptability or liking, using The Food Action Rating Scale (FACT), are applied to understand consumer preference and food choice behaviour [ 62 ]. It is, however, crucial for sensory studies to move beyond measuring liking only by evaluating a broader range of insights into individuals’ involvement with food products [ 41 ], since food liking is complex and choice behaviour is influenced by many intrinsic (sensory) and extrinsic factors [ 37 ].…”