Reliability and validity of the food technology Neophobia scale in a Turkish sample

Abstract

SummaryFood technology neophobia refers to the unwillingness/avoidance and neophobia to foods produced using new food technologies. Identifying this neophobia in a society is significant as it affects the demand for these products in the food industry. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Food Technology Neophobia Scale in a Turkish sample. We conducted this study in two stages. In the first stage, which we conducted with 182 participants, we determined that the scale had high reliability and was suitable for validity testing. In the second stage, which we conducted with 610 participants, we performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The results of these analyses did not confirm the thirteen‐item and four‐factor structure, unlike the original scale; however, they pointed to a twelve‐item and three‐factor structure: ‘New Food Technologies Are Unnecessary’, ‘Perception of Risks’, and ‘Healthy Choice and Information/Media’. This structure has an acceptable fit and is a valid and useful scale for use in Türkiye.