5 - Consumer attitudes towards novel enzyme technologies in food processing

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses that the consumers are usually unaware of the technical details of food processing and certainly most consumers are unaware of the use of enzymes. However, consumers may form attitudes to food processing technologies, including the use of enzymes, when they are confronted with information about them. The chapter deals with how consumers form attitudes to novel enzyme technologies and with the effects the attitudes may have on the consumers' intentions of buying foods that are processed using the technologies. The central issue is how attitudes toward novel enzyme technologies are formed. The chapter presents a description of the theoretical approach to studying the consumer attitudes toward new technologies in the food industry, and the design and results of two major studies investigating the issues are reported. It also discusses the implications and future trends. Enzymes have been a natural part of food production for centuries; however, novel technologies are opening up new possibilities for using enzymes to enhance the structural properties of food products. Enzyme extraction from plants or microbes for use in large-scale food processing usually requires the use of gene technology. Therefore, it is in the interest of scientists, food producers, and regulators to know how consumers form attitudes toward the use of novel enzyme technologies in food processing. Although it is still not clear how the labelling of enzymes from genetically modified (GM) systems will be regulated in the future, consumers will sooner or later be confronted by the existence of the technologies in food processing.