Application of Sensory and Consumer Science in optimization and exploration of debated food processing technologies: Smoke-flavoring of foods

Summary

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization emphasizes the urgent need for sustainable food production and equitable distribution to feed the global population by 2050. For people with sufficient access to food, it is expected that eating practices will need to shift due to e.g., changes in food distribution, raw material shortages, regulatory changes, cultural considerations, health factors, implementation of new foods and development of innovative and more efficient food processing technologies. Understanding people’s food choices is crucial for facilitating this shift. Consumers’ food choices are influenced by numerous factors. Some factors are food-internal, like sensory perception, while food-external stimuli include psychological and cognitive factors as well as culture, context, and practice. This thesis aimed to explore key internal and external factors influencing food choices using methods grounded in Sensory and Consumer Science. The optimization and exploration of the debated food processing technology, smoke-flavor processing, served as a case study to examine the effectiveness of different sensory and consumer methods to understand consumer choices and aid in product development and marketing. Food smoking is a long-standing tradition in Norway, used in the production of both everyday and traditional foods. Over the past decade, the European Union has encouraged the adoption of smoke-flavor processing as a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional smoking, which poses health risks due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In Norway, the use of smoke-flavor processing has been a subject of ongoing debate. Some manufacturers have avoided this technology, anticipating high consumer skepticism. Recent scientific evaluations by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), EU’s independent agency responsible for providing scientific advice on risks within the food area, have identified health concerns associated with smoke-flavorings. As a result, EFSA recommended the withdrawal of previously approved smoke-flavorings, which have since been removed from the EU market. This work comprises a total of three papers. The initial two papers focused on the traditional Norwegian food product, cold-smoked salmon (smoked salmon) while the third paper focused on smoke-flavoring of foods in general. Previous studies have found that positive sensory perception is essential in accepting novel food technology. In Paper I, sensory characterization and consumer acceptance were employed to optimize the production of smoke-flavored salmon. The approach involved various sensory evaluation methods and panels with various levels of training and resulted in a product that did not significantly differ in consumer liking and closely matched conventionally smoked salmon in sensory characteristics. The results indicated that salty, smoky and natural flavors were important drivers for consumer liking. However, the findings in Paper I did not clarify what influenced consumer attitudes towards smoked salmon. Therefore, further investigation was conducted both quantitatively, through an online survey, and qualitatively, using focus group discussions (Paper II). The digital survey revealed that only 15% of Norwegian consumers were positively oriented towards smoke-flavoring of salmon. Negative attitudes were linked to perceptions of unnaturalness, violation of traditions (given the cultural significance of conventional smoking in Norwegian heritage) and expected changes in sensory quality and healthiness. Interestingly, consumer attitudes towards smoke-flavoring varied depending on the type of product. Smoke-flavoring was more accepted in the production of everyday foods compared to traditional foods like smoked salmon. A large-scale survey was conducted (Paper III) to further explore these and additional factors. The survey, conducted by 1003 Norwegian consumers, identified that 44% were negative, 36% neutral, and 20% positive towards smoke-flavor processing. Positive and neutral respondents were significantly less food-involved and food technology neophobic than the negative respondents. The negative respondents were concerned about the degree of processing and perceived naturalness. Among the negative respondents, two distinct subgroups emerged. One subgroup consisted of food-involved individuals who were concerned with traditional food and food production, and who exhibited personality traits such as being extroverted, imaginative, and friendly. The other subgroup was characterized by being older, more frequently retired, and living in rural areas. Together, the three papers examined the acceptance, barriers and drivers for acceptance, perception, and attitudes towards smoked salmon. They also explored the role of sociodemographics, traditions, food technology neophobia, smoke processing methods (conventional or smoke-flavoring), level of processing, naturalness, food involvement, and personality traits in shaping attitudes towards smoked foods. Although not all factors influencing food choices were examined, this work provides valuable insights into the many factors that affect consumer attitudes towards the novel food processing technology of smoke-flavoring. It is possible to segment consumers based on several of the examined factors. In this studies, consumers were grouped based on their attitudes towards the use of smoke-flavoring, focusing on the characteristics of the negative and neutral consumers who are unlikely to choose smoke-flavored products. By identifying the characteristics of these segments, information can be tailored to resonate with them, if the goal is to change their food choices or eating practices. The combination of methods employed in these three papers can be applied to other food-related areas, such as introducing novel food processing technologies or new foods. All the practical work in this thesis was conducted before the negative health effects of smoke-flavoring were identified and the approval of the previously approved smoke-flavors was withdrawn. This does not render the research irrelevant. On the contrary, this study may be valuable for future applications and for understanding the impact of regulatory changes on consumer attitudes and food choices.