Providing appropriate information to consumers boosts the acceptability of genome-edited foods in Japan

Abstract

The Japanese Health Ministry recently granted permission for the market distribution of genome-edited (GE) foods, yet there remains a lack of full understanding among consumers regarding this technology. In this study, we conducted a survey to assess the acceptability of GE foods among Japanese consumers and examined the impact of providing information about GE foods on their acceptability. We conducted a web-based survey among 3,408 consumers aged 20–69 years, focusing on three aspects: (1) the commercial availability of GE foods, (2) the consumption of GE foods by others, and (3) your own consumption of GE foods. The survey findings revealed that participants were most accepting of the consumption of GE foods by others, followed by their acceptance of GE foods being commercially available. Notably, participants’ acceptance of GE foods increased in all three aspects after they viewed an informative video. The video had a particularly strong impact on participants who fully or partially understood its content, compared to those who did not. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that participants’ understanding of two key areas, namely “Why are GE foods important” and “What procedures are in place to ensure the safety of GE foods,” played a crucial role in increasing acceptability. Overall, these results indicate that providing information about GE foods to Japanese consumers can effectively enhance their acceptance of such foods. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the benefits and safety measures associated with GE foods in influencing consumer attitudes.

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“…Recently, a study was conducted to determine the acceptability of gene-edited foods among Japanese consumers. 461 The results of this study emphasise the importance of product transparency upon public acceptance of geneedited food for consumption. Upon viewing an informative video on gene-edited food, acceptance of these foods being commercially available was found to be increased.…”

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“…This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. of edible red seabream with increased yield (Kato, 2023), one highgrowth pufferfish ("Japan Embraces CRISPR-Edited Fish," 2022), and one PH1V69 CRISPR-Cas9 waxy corn (Taguchi et al, 2023).…”

The impact of ‘framing’ in the adoption of GM crops

“… 44 On the contrary, positive framing of the rigorous risk assessment of GM crops and their importance to global food security 45 can improve the acceptability of GM and genome edited (GE) crops. 46 If GM crops are framed as sustainable by the media, it should be expected that this is also the way consumers would perceive the technology ( Fig. 2 ).…”

“…The study by Taguchi and coworkers on acceptance of GE foods in Japan found that, when consumers are provided with appropriate information, their acceptance of GE foods increases. 46 Further, there is an increase in acceptance, particularly when the information helps consumers understand why GE foods are important and how they are tested to ensure their safety. 46 This implies that a similar approach could be used for GM foods.…”

“… 46 Further, there is an increase in acceptance, particularly when the information helps consumers understand why GE foods are important and how they are tested to ensure their safety. 46 This implies that a similar approach could be used for GM foods. Taken together, consumer attitudes toward GMOs remain mostly negative, but consumer knowledge can lead to increased adoption of GM crops.…”