Abstract
Palm oil production and consumption involve several consequences, the perception of which are significant factors that influence consumer behavior. The aim of our research is to explore which health, environmental, or social consequences associated with palm oil influence consumers most in their behavior to avoid palm oil. We examined the three risk types from two approaches: from the viewpoint of generally perceived consequences, and the viewpoint of consequences perceived specifically in relation to palm oil. We collected data through an online consumer survey (n = 336), and we applied the method of structural equation modeling to achieve our research aim. According to our results, depending on the approach, all three consequence types influence consumer purchase intentions. Of them, the perceived effects of palm oil on health have the strongest influence on consumption intent, followed by environmental damage caused by palm oil production. The effect of general health consequences show indirect significance through information seeking, which also indicates the importance of the approach to consequence perception. Indirectly or directly, only general social consequences influence purchase intent. Our research suggests that companies developing palm oil-free products could benefit from a label on the product stating their palm oil-free nature.
Highlights
IntroductionIn Hungary, the rapid spread of palm oil is partly due to a regulation that took effect in 2013 which limits the maximum quantity of trans fatty acids in food [5]
In the case of the environmental and health consequence perceived in relation to palm oil, we found direct-only nonmediation, as there was a significant effect only for the direct relationship, and for the social consequences, no significant effect was found at all
Palm oil is the most-used vegetable oil used in the greatest amount in the world, and it is used in the food industry in many ways due to its beneficial technological properties
Summary
In Hungary, the rapid spread of palm oil is partly due to a regulation that took effect in 2013 which limits the maximum quantity of trans fatty acids in food [5]. Palm oil has a unique composition among fats, it is suitable for many food applications, such as creams, fillings, and margarine [7]. As Berger [8] summarized, there are several reasons for the success and widespread use of palm oil beyond those already mentioned: its cost-effective production, suitability for baking, and its advantage over other vegetable oils in that it can be solid at room temperature, so it does not need to be hydrogenated, and it is trans-fatty acid-free. It is due to these qualities that the processed food market accounts for about 72%
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