Traffic-light front-of-pack environmental labelling across food categories triggers more environmentally friendly food choices: a randomised controlled trial in virtual reality supermarket.

BACKGROUND: Food systems highly contribute to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and shifting towards more environmentally friendly diets is urgently needed. Enabling consumers to compare the environmental impact of food products at point-of-purchase with front-of-pack labelling could be a promising strategy to trigger more environmentally friendly food choices. This strategy remained to be tested. METHODS: The effect of a new traffic-light front-of-pack environmental label on food choices was tested in a 2-arm randomised controlled trial in a virtual reality supermarket. Participants (n = 132) chose food products to compose two main meals for an everyday meal scenario and for an environmentally friendly meal scenario with or without the label. The environmental label (ranging from A: green/lowest impact, to E: red/highest impact) was based on the Environmental Footprint (EF) single score calculation across food categories. The effect of the label on the environmental impact of food choices in each scenario was tested using linear mixed models. RESULTS: In the everyday meal scenario, the environmental impact of meals was lower in the label condition than in the no label condition (-0.17 ± 0.07 mPt/kg, p = 0.012). This reduction was observed at no nutritional, financial nor hedonic cost. The effectiveness of the label can be attributed to a change in the food categories chosen: less meat-based and more vegetarian meals were chosen with the label. In the environmentally friendly meal scenario, we demonstrated that the label provided new information to the participants as they were able to further reduce the environmental impact of their food choices with the label (-0.19 ± 0.07 mPt/kg, p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a front-of-pack environmental label on food products in real supermarkets could increase awareness of the environmental impact of food and contribute to drive more environmentally friendly food choices. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study protocol was pre-registered prior to data collection at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04909372).

Using CATA tests to capture consumers' mental representations elicited by images of pulse-based food products with different levels of processing.

Consumption of pulses plays a key role in achieving a healthier and more sustainable diet. Despite the increased availability of pulse-based foods on the French market, pulse consumption in France remains below recommended levels. The objective of this study was to capture French consumers' mental representations of various pulse-based foods with different levels of processing, using a Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) questionnaire with food images. We used CATA questionnaires, in two separate studies, to capture two aspects: consumers' beliefs about the products presented in the study, and the characteristics of those products, according to consumers. In Study 1, twelve images of pulses were presented (unprocessed, processed, and ready-to-eat) to investigate whether and how consumers differentiate between pulse-based products with different recipes and levels of processing. In Study 2, parallel CATA questionnaires were used: one with images of pulse-based products, and one with images of vegetables. We wanted to discover whether the factors underlying different representations for pulse-based products were specific to pulses, or were also observed with another family of food products. Results showed that products were differentiated more by their level of processing than by their main ingredient. Participants had more positive attitudes toward pulse products that were unprocessed, processed, or "new ready-to-eat", than toward other ready-to-eat pulse products (whether canned or frozen). Our results also highlighted that, in consumers' mental representations of pulse-based products, packaging format is a negligible factor in comparison with the nature of the product itself.

Meat replacer? No thanks! The clash between naturalness and processing: An explorative study of the perception of plant-based foods.

A shift towards a plant-based diet is desired to promote sustainability, improve health, and minimize animal suffering. However, many consumers are not willing to make such a transition, because of attachment to meat and unwillingness to change habits. The present work explored the perception of Norwegian and French consumers' attitudes, barriers and opportunities to increase the likelihood of a shift in diet. Three creative focus groups (CFGs), using interactive tasks such as photo-collage, projective mapping, story completion and third person technique, were run with omnivorous adult consumers in each country. CFGs gathers undirected feedback, providing less biased responses than other exploration methods, related to e.g. social norms. In both countries, results were in general lines comparable. Nutritional knowledge was low regarding vegetable proteins; familiar sources of protein were mostly animal. There is a strong gap between respondents' desired behaviour (balancing nutrition, eating less meat) and their actual behaviour: meat is very important, and the menu is often organized around it. Consumers are curious about vegetable sources of protein, but major constraints were hedonics in France, and convenience in Norway. The main barrier to a shift in diet is the lack of knowledge on how to prepare plant-based meals. Many participants find a conflict between health & sustainability in industrial products, perceiving them as highly processed and suggesting that meat replacers might not be a straightforward way to drive omnivorous consumers to shift to a more plant-based diet.

French consumers know the benefits of pulses, but do not choose them: An exploratory study combining indirect and direct approaches.

Pulses present nutritional advantages for human health, and also contribute to food security and environmental sustainability. Despite these beneficial properties, the consumption of pulses in France has decreased over the past century. This study explores the representation of pulses among French non-vegetarian consumers, using both an indirect approach, with scenarios evoking real-life situations, and a direct approach, with an online questionnaire. For the indirect approach, based on six different scenarios, the 120 participants composed dishes by selecting three food images out of the twenty provided. One week later, for the direct approach, the same participants completed a questionnaire, with ten questions about food products, using the same images. Results showed that spontaneous selection of pulses was low for all dish-composition situations, coherent with the low consumption of pulses declared in the questionnaire. Among possible barriers to pulse consumption were dislike of pulses, preparation difficulty, and perception of pulses as a food for vegetarians. Participants possessed theoretical knowledge about the benefits of pulses, but this knowledge seemed not to be applied to dish-composition situations. Results also highlighted the complementarity of these two methods, providing deeper understanding of consumer food habits in relation to pulses. Based on these findings, several levers are proposed to increase pulse consumption: improving familiarity with pulses, using the context of consumption, formulating trendy and innovative products, and promoting pulses as a "food for all".

How to use local resources to fight malnutrition in Madagascar? A study combining a survey and a consumer test.

This study aimed to understand consumers' habits and belief structures concerning local food products and to develop a new snack as a way to fight against children malnutrition in Madagascar. A large variety of natural food resources grow in Madagascar, like Moringa oleifera (MO) which leaves are rich in nutrients but not consumed. First, a survey conducted in four areas of Madagascar revealed that MO leaves are known for their health benefits but infrequently consumed, probably because of their low satiating power and strong odor. In the studied areas, different levels of consumption were observed, which may be linked to varying levels of familiarity with MO by the local populations, this in turn resulting from different situations regarding geographical and historical availability. In contrary, resources such as cassava are perceived as having negative effects on health but are widely consumed because they are cheap, liked by children and satiating. The second step in the study aimed to propose products that could increase MO consumption without completely changing food practices. The acceptability of snacks associating cassava roots and MO was evaluated by means of hedonic tests performed by children. Between the snacks tested, the preferred snack contained the highest quantity of MO and was sweetened. There was no effect of area on the acceptance of the formulated snacks. This work is an evaluation of the potential of MO in the diet of malnourished population.

Studying the nutritional beliefs and food practices of Malagasy school children parents. A contribution to the understanding of malnutrition in Madagascar.

Madagascar is severely affected by the problem of children malnutrition. The present study aimed at exploring school children Malagasy parents' food practices and beliefs structures about the nutritional value of foods, to better understand the causes of this malnutrition. A combination of Focus Groups (72 participants), and questionnaires (1000 interviewees) was used to evaluate the food beliefs and the nutritional habits of low income parents of school age children in urban and rural areas of Antananarivo and Antsiranana. The respondents' beliefs were shown to focus not only on the nutrient and energetic composition of food, but also to involve more general relations between food and health and particularly the sanitary properties of food. Compared with such sanitary properties, nutrient content was not considered to be the priority in food choice and food preparation. The food category considered to be the most nutritive was cereals, ahead of protein foods, or vegetables and fruit. Nutritional beliefs were not the same in the Antananarivo and Antsiranana areas, nor between urban and rural areas of Antsiranana. Different socio-economic contexts, food availability and information may explain these differences. This study could guide actors involved in nutrition promotion to adapt to specific areas their nutrition programmes in the fight against malnutrition.

Consumer Attitudes toward Pulses: Measuring the Implicit.

Research into consumer attitudes toward food products is important to help people adopt healthier, more sustainable diets. A positive attitude regarding an object is a prerequisite for its adoption. This study compares French consumers' implicit attitudes toward pulses and cereals. Many studies have measured attitudes by explicit methodologies (e.g., questionnaires). Such methods are often biased by social desirability, and consumers may not be consciously aware of their attitudes toward food. A Sorting Paired Feature Task measures the strength of automatic associations, pairing images of pulses or cereals and adjectives with positive or negative valence. Participants sorted 120 paired stimuli as fast as possible. Pairs composed of pulses and negative adjectives were sorted faster than pairs composed of cereals and negative adjectives. Cereals with positive adjectives were sorted more rapidly than pulses with positive adjectives. Mistaken associations were more frequent for pairs composed of cereals and negative adjectives than for pairs composed of pulses and negative adjectives. These results highlight more negative implicit attitudes toward pulses than cereals. This study provides the first potential evidence of negative implicit attitudes toward pulses, which could explain the low consumption of these products.

Do French Consumers Have the Same Social Representations of Pulses as Food Industry Professionals?

Pulses present many advantages for human health, nutrition, sustainability, and the environment. Despite efforts in recent years by the pulse industry and national authorities to favor pulses, consumption in France remains relatively low, at 1.7 kg/per person in 2016, compared to 1920 when it was around 7.2 kg/per person. To understand social representations of pulses in France, 80 French nonvegetarian consumers and 35 professionals from the pulse industry were asked to say five words spontaneously evoked by the inductor "pulses". They then had to rank these five words in order of importance and rate their valence. The structural approach was used to analyze social representations for each group independently. Our results highlight differences in the structure and content of social representations for pulses. Consumer responses suggested only vague impressions of pulses, but taste evocations were nevertheless rated positively. By contrast, professionals tended to focus specifically on protein content and culinary preparation. These differences could explain some barriers to pulse consumption, and improved communication should be a key target. Efficient communication must consider the concepts most frequently used by consumers when referring to pulses, and those ranked as most important.

A central place for meat, but what about pulses? Studying French consumers' representations of main dish structure, using an indirect approach.

Over time, meat has acquired a central place in French gastronomy. The role played by plant-based proteins, such as pulses, is less clear. In order to better understand it, this study seeks to identify how French non-vegetarian consumers structure their main dish, using an indirect approach. A total of 120 participants had to compose dishes, following six different scenarios, by selecting three images of food items out of the twenty proposed. Results provided information about: (1) the first food product chosen, and (2) how foods from different food-groups were associated. Our results indicated that (1) French non-vegetarian consumers generally constructed their main dishes using animal-based food products first. Some differences were nevertheless identified, in relation to the scenario presented, and the profile of the participants. Results also showed that (2) the food-groups most often associated within a dish were meat, starch, and vegetable. The pulse group, when used, was in general associated with the meat and vegetable food-groups. These findings provide new evidence of the structure of the French main dish. They also highlight possible levers that could be used to promote pulses to French consumers.

Effect of apple particle state on the release of volatile compounds in a new artificial mouth device.

Varying the crushing parameters in a model mouth apparatus gave different crushed apple samples, which were compared to apples crushed in the human mouth by six people. An image analysis method was developed to measure the similarity between apple particles after crushing in the artificial mouth and in the human mouth. Thus, experimental conditions were determined that produced fruit in a state closest to that obtained after mastication in a human mouth. The influence of these different conditions on the quantity of released volatile compounds was then studied.

Modified proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) operating conditions for in vitro and in vivo analysis of wine aroma.

With proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry standard operating conditions, analysis of alcoholic beverages is an analytical challenge. Ethanol reacts with the primary ion H3 O+ leading to its depletion and to formation of ethanol-related ions and clusters, resulting in unstable ionization and in significant fragmentation of analytes. Different methods were proposed but generally resulted in lowering the sensitivity and/or complicating the mass spectra. The aim of the present study was to propose a simple, sensitive, and reliable method with fragmentation as low as possible, linearity within a realistic range of volatile organic compounds concentrations, and applicability to in vivo dynamic aroma release (nosespace) studies of wines. For in vitro analyses, a reference flask containing a hydro-alcoholic solution (10% ethanol) was permanently connected to the PTR-MS inlet in order to establish ethanol chemical ionization conditions. A low electric field strength to number density ratio E/N (80 Td) was used in the drift-tube. A stable reagent ion distribution was obtained with the primary protonated ethanol ion C2 H5 OH2+ accounting for more than 80% of the ionized species. The ethanol dimer (C2 H5 OH)2 H+ accounted for only 10%. Fragmentation of some aroma molecules important for white wine flavor (various esters, linalool, cis-rose oxide, 2-methylpropan-1-ol, 3-methylbutan-1-ol, and 2-phenylethanol) was studied from same ethanol content solutions connected alternatively with the reference solution to the instrument inlet. Linear dynamic range and limit of detection (LOD) were determined for ethyl hexanoate. Fragmentation of the protonated analytes was limited to a few ions of low intensity, or to specific fragment ions with no further fragmentation. Association and/or ligand switching reactions from ethanol clusters were only significant for the primary alcohols. Interpretation of the mass spectra was straightforward with easy detection of diagnostic ions. These results made this ethanol ionization method suitable for direct headspace analyses of model wines and to their nosespace analyses.