Antecedents and Antidotes for Ingredient Food Fears

Abstract

With frequent news reports of tainted foods of various types, it is not uncommon for people to develop a temporary fear of specific foods or ingredients suspected of contamination. Instead of focusing on incident food fears resulting from contamination events, this research investigates food fears that are more categorical in nature and focused on ingredients – such as sugar, fat, or salt substitutes. A phone survey of 1008 U.S. mothers suggests four preliminary results: First, those who are most prone to expressing ingredient food fears may be people who have relatively higher perceptions of risks (and lower perceptions of benefits) or they may be people who have a greater need for social approval among their reference group (the Prius Effect). Second, those with ingredient food fears receive more information from internet sources than from television or print media. Third, ingredient food fears tend to be exacerbated if these ingredients are largely associated with less nutritious foods (such as soft drinks or snacks). Fourth, effectively communicating the background, the purpose, and the history of an ingredient may moderate extreme views. These findings suggest new theories for predicting what foods and ingredients are most at risk of generating ingredient food fears and which people will be most prone to these fears.