Consumer Opinions and Dilemmas about Food Additives

Abstract

Food additives became one of the most important food safety issues in the recent decades. Health concerns regarding food additives are noticeably growing among consumers as well as in the media. In this paper consumer attitudes towards food additives were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative market research methods. In the focus group survey three focus groups were created: common consumers, doctors and food industry experts. In the course of the directed conversations it was observed that most consumers knew very little about food additives. Their judgement is basically negative: while recognizing the technological importance of some food additives, they are afraid of their health impairing effects. However, this fear is usually not reflected in the consumers’ decision-making; other quality characteristics and the price play a much more significant role when choosing foods. Doctors are more familiar with the chemical nature and health effects of food additives. Most respondents are aware of the allowance system of food additives as well, and they trust in the effectiveness of the rigorous tests carried out, therefore the doctors’ aversion against additives is much less expressed than in the consumers’ group. At their food choice process similar tendencies were observed as at the common consumers’. Through their job food industry experts get in closer relationship with food additives, therefore they generally have detailed knowledge of their technological and health functions as well. In their consumer decision process the food additive content of products is a more important factor than in the other groups: although they consider most additives as harmless, they try to choose foods containing less food additives. On the basis of observations in our focus group studies, we started a countrywide quantitative market survey focusing on the consumers’ judgement of food additives. The goal of the research was to determine how consumers think of the necessity and health risks of the use of food additives, and how they are influenced by the additive content of foods when choosing products. By this time 300 questionnaires were completed in three shire towns in Southwest Hungary: Kaposvár, Pécs and Szekszárd. Firstly, respondents were asked how dangerous they think it is if foods contain certain. It deserves attention that most substances usually identified as food additives are thought to be even more harmful than cholesterol, which suggests that the cholesterol-hysteria of the 90s was replaced by the food additive panic. The E-numbers were considered to be the most harmful ingredients while of the expression ‘food additives’ a more favourable account was given. This suggests that most people do not know that E-numbers and the chemical names of food additives are corresponding marking forms. The fear of the food additives may be attributed to the lack of information: more than half of the respondents could not properly define in their own words either what food additives or E-numbers mean. The role of food additives in the decision process of the consumers is diverse. While most consumers do not really care about this issue, the proportion of conscious consumers increases with their level of education. These observations suggest that the consumers’ concerns of food additives are usually not reflected in the shopping habits, other product characteristics play a more important role when choosing foods. Regarding the additive content of certain foods, most people showed greater awareness than we expected from the focus group studies but we discovered some incredibly erroneous views, too. At the end of the questionnaire we asked the consumers’ opinion of 15 statements regarding food additives. The answers confirm the fear of the health impairing effects of additives, at the same time showing that compounds of natural origin are judged more favourably than the artificial ones. Most people think that the authorities do not provide adequate information about food additives. The respondents had various opinions of the technological necessity of additives, but most of them think that some of these compounds are needlessly added to foods. Consumers prefer products containing less additives amongst foods of same quality and price, and there are some who are willing to pay more for them. It was concluded that there was a strong need for the proper guidance of people to avoid the groundless fear of food additives. The consumers should be informed of the technological necessity and the strict authorization system food additives, including the meaning of Enumbers. Additionally, the list of E-numbers should be more widely available to consumers to make them possible to identify the certain compounds. We regard the information as governmental task, with the active contribution of the media, family doctors, food processors and retailers, as a part of the project for propagating healthy nutrition. Since doctors and food industry experts who may play the most important rule in transmitting information to the public were not insterested in this issue, authorities must find ways to involve them in the information project. The vast majority of the interviewed people would support the introduction of an „additivefree food” mark. We hope that results of our research may help food processors better fulfil the consumers’ requirements, and provide ideas to a more effective information strategy to the food authorities.