Researchers from Embrapa Food Technology, in partnership with the Federal University of Rio De Janeiro (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ) and Uruguay's University of the Republic (Universidad de la República - UdelaR) have worked in the validation of a sensorial analysis method for the development of new products, considering several aspects related to well-being generated by food. The methodology is likely to contribute to the production of healthier food in the industry, in tune with consumers' desire.

The definition of a new scale of sensorial analysis was based on qualitative studies with consumers from seven countries: Brazil, China, France, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and the United States. The aim is to investigate intercultural differences concerning how food is perceived, from 31 sentences/affirmations categorized in six main dimensions: general, physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual well-being.

For the validation of this global scale of foods associated to well-being, there have already been 1,332 participants from said countries. "Our aim is to establish a holistic vision of food, to be able to better understand what leads the consumer to prefer a given food or formulation to the detriment of another. We want to study consumers' perception with regard to the concept of well-being related to food in several countries of the world”, asserts Rosires Deliza, a researcher from Embrapa Food Technology who is a member of the research network.

Differences between the crops
The researcher has already pointed to some differences in consumer perception between the countries studied. In France, for instance, food is generally associated with pleasure; it is no wonder that the country has one of the most appreciated cuisines in the world. Meanwhile, in China, eating is more strongly associated with physiological needs than happiness. “Beef consumption in Uruguay calls to mind very positive social and cultural issues related to the country's traditions. In Brazil, coffee is more appreciated than in other places, for example”, reports Gastón Ares, a researcher from UdelaR, Uruguay. The study has observed consumer perception for nine foods: apple, meat, beer, broccoli, chocolate cake, coffee, fish, french fries and milk.

Consumers' choice of foods is a complex process, affected by numerous factors. Those can be related to the product, such as physical, chemical and sensorial characteristics; to consumers themselves, such as age, gender, education, psychological factors, and to the cultural, social and economic context. “In general, external factors are more important in situations in which the consumer did not have a previous experience with the product, as previous experience makes their assessment of internal attributes become more relevant for product choice”, affirms Denize Oliveira, PhD in Food Sciences from UFRJ, who developed a chocolate-flavored milk beverage with functional potential based on consumer perception, advised by the researchers Rosires Deliza and Amauri Rosenthal, from Embrapa Food Technology. The formulation that consumers preferred contained the highest levels of sugar and chocolate among the other ones in the analysis. Such fact led the team of researchers to consider new studies to reduce sugar content in foods without affecting consumer acceptance.

Products with lower sugar content
One of the main current challenges of the food industry is to develop healthier products with reduced sugar, fat and salt contents without letting consumption fall. The World Health Organization (WHO) has publicized several alerts about the risk of obesity and chronic illnesses in children and adults due to a high intake of such nutrients. Some countries have already been discussing public policy to reduce consumption with extra taxation. In Brazil, since 2007, there is an agreement between the Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Association of Food Industries (Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Alimentos - ABIA), that proposes a schedule to gradually reduce sodium (salt), sugars and fats in foods.

One of the contributions to the topic comes from the research developed by Juliana Peres for her Master's degree in Consumer Science and Nutrition at the University of Porto, Portugal, advised by the Embrapa researcher Rosires Deliza. She ran acceptance tests with consumers for three types of nectars: pomegranate and orange nectar, passion fruit and orange nectar, and passion fruit nectar.


“The results have proved that it is possible to reduce sugar content in the different types of nectars tested, without changes to consumer perception. They also showed that it is possible to apply even more significant reductions to sugar content, even if they are perceivable for consumers, without causing negative evaluations with regard to the acceptance of the nectars, paving the way for significant sugar reductions in market products without expressive commercial impacts”, asserts Juliana Peres. Her research proved that it is possible to reduce up to 18.4% in the pomegranate nectar, 20% in the passion fruit and orange nectar, and 10.2% in the passion fruit nectar without modifying consumer preferences.  “Studies prove that an average reduction of 20% in industrialized products' added sugar does not change consumer acceptance. In Nordic and European countries, products are traded with much lower sugar content than the ones available in Brazil. It is a path to be pursued”, concludes Gastón Aires, who participated in the research.

Translation: Mariana de Lima Medeiros