Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Antúnez, Lucía
• Alcaire, Florencia
• Giménez, Ana
• Ares, Gastón

Titel

Can sodium warnings modify preferences? A case study with white bread

Ist Teil von

• Food research international, 2020-08, Vol.134, p.109239-109239, Article 109239

Ort / Verlag

Canada: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Access via ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• [Display omitted] •Large heterogeneity was found in consumer preferences for salt in bread.•The sodium warning led to significantly lower expected overall liking scores.•Sodium warnings encouraged consumers to select breads with lower salt content.•Sodium warnings shifted consumer preferences towards lower salt contents in bread.•After trying it, most consumers were willing to re-purchase the bread they had chosen. Several studies have shown that the inclusion of front of pack nutritional warnings is a potentially effective strategy to encourage consumers to avoid products with high content of nutrients associated with non-communicable diseases. In this context, the present work aimed at exploring consumers’ reaction towards sodium reduction in the context of the implementation of warnings in three scenarios: package evaluation, tasting and intention to re-purchase the product after tasting, using white bread as case study. A total of 171 consumers participated in the study that encompassed four parts. Firstly, consumers received two bread samples with different salt content (2.00% and 1.38% salt) under blind conditions and were asked to rate their overall liking and to indicate the one they preferred. Then, they were asked to look at four bread packages differing in graphic design and the presence of warnings. They had to rate their expected liking and to indicate the one they would purchase. Finally, consumers were asked to try the bread they had previously chosen, to assess their overall liking and to indicate their willingness to purchase it again. Salt content significantly affected consumer hedonic reaction towards the breads. Two consumer segments with different preference for the salt content in bread were identified: 58% of consumers preferred the bread with 2.00% salt while 42% preferred breads with 1.38% salt. However, when looking at the packages the majority of consumers in both groups selected bread packages that did not feature warnings. In addition, after having tried the bread, most consumers were willing to buy the bread they had previously chosen again, which is promising in terms of reaching sustainable changes towards lower salt levels. Results from the present work suggest that, in the case of bread, nutritional warnings have potential to shift consumers’ preferences to lower sodium content, even after trying the products.