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- Conceptualization of rice with low glycemic index: perspectives from the major european consumersPublication . Cabral, Diva; Fonseca, Susana Caldas; Moura, Ana Pinto de; Oliveira, Jorge; Cunha, Luís MiguelRice and cereal consumption has become a concern for consumers due to usually high glycaemic indexes (GI), which is a critical issue for a balanced and healthy diet. Therefore, the development of new products with low GI is an important target of the industry, particularly in countries with high consumption. This study assesses consumers’ perceptions about “rice” and “rice with low GI” and evaluates the effect of consumers’ rice consumption profiles through the application of a free word association technique in a structured self-administered electronic questionnaire with 256 Portuguese consumers (the European market with the highest per capita consumption of rice by far). The frequency of rice consumption was evaluated, and the consumption profile was determined through a hierarchical cluster analysis, with 9% identified as daily consumers. The response words were categorized by the triangulation technique, and the association between the word categories and dimensions, sociodemographic characteristics, and consumption profile were determined. Respondents most frequently associated “rice” with rice dishes, its sensory attributes, and nutrition, highlighting the satisfaction of nutritional and hedonic needs. Consumers revealed positive expectations in relation to the functionality of “rice with low GI”. The consumers’ rice consumption profiles, sex, age, and educational levels influenced their perception towards “rice“ and “rice with low GI”. This study provides important insights for the industry to develop a consumer-oriented, low GI rice product.
- Public perceptions of food-related hazards: an application to Portuguese consumersPublication . Cunha, Luís Miguel; Moura, Ana Pinto de; Lopes, Zulmira; Santos, Maria do Céu; Silva, IsidroPurpose – The purpose of this research is to assess public perception of food-related hazards by Portuguese consumers at major metropolitan areas. A contrast was searched between controllable and non-controllable hazards. Design/methodology/approach – The Perceived Food Risk Index developed by Fife-Schaw and Rowe, was administered to a sample of 666 subjects through a door to door interview using a random route walk procedure and following a quota sampling controlled for sex, age and location. Risk perception was evaluated over ten risk characteristics, for each of the hazards. Findings – Through principal component analysis, two main components were identified: “Knowledge” and “Dread”. A perceptual map of the hazards was built over these two dimensions. A high level of worry and concern associated with fatty foods was found, clearly contradicting the expected attenuation of risk perception associated to greater perceived personal control. Contrarily to previous findings for other populations, GMOs yielded lower levels of both “Knowledge” and “Dread”. Based on risk perceptions, consumers were grouped in four segments: optimists, unconfident, fearless, and fearful. Originality/value – This work adds to knowledge on the Portuguese consumer and its risk perceptions, a fairly unreported topic, thus helping to the success of food safety communication by different stakeholders.
- Dimensions for the valorisation of sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) roe production through the eyes of experienced chefsPublication . Baião, Luís F.; Moura, Ana Pinto de; Valente, Luísa M. P.; Cunha, Luís MiguelThe aim of this exploratory study was to characterize the nature of the reporting of food fraud in news from the major daily Portuguese newspapers.
- Barriers and facilitators to the promotion of healthy eating lifestyles among adolescents at school: the views of school health coordinatorsPublication . Melo, H.; Moura, Ana Pinto de; Aires, Luísa; Cunha, Luís MiguelThis study evaluates the perceptions of teachers in charge of coordinating health education in schools: the School Health Coordinators (SHCs). It addresses the success and barriers of the development and implementation regarding the first year of healthy eating programmes in their schools. This research is based on 16 face-to-face semi-structured interviews with SHCs from Portuguese public schools offering from fifth to ninth grades. A thematic analysis was performed and themes were identified, taking into consideration similarities and differences among the participants' opinions. The results showed that the schools in this study often involved a set of separate healthy diet promotion activities with a low level of joint effort from all members of the school. Nevertheless, in Portugal, health education is based on the broad concept that school health promotion is compulsory for all schools. Two main barriers were identified in order to explain this divergence: structural and political idiosyncrasies among schools and the food environment inside and outside the schools. The results are discussed considering the wide range of factors influencing young people's eating behaviours and recommendations are made for the different agents interacting with them in order to promote appropriate eating habits.
- Why do small business butcher shops fail to fully implement HACCP?Publication . Ramalho, Vera Cristina Pires; Moura, Ana Pinto de; Cunha, Luís MiguelThis study aims to assess the degree of HACCP implementation in small business butcher shops and understand which factors most influence butchers' intention to fully implement it, through the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. One hundred and one butchers managing or owning small butcher's responded to the interview regarding their Attitudes, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural Control, Personal Norm, and Knowledge with regard to their Intention to fully implement a HACCP system in their shops. Before the interviews, a certified veterinarian visited all the shops. Visits included an inspection of the establishments using the Official Portuguese Control Plan checklist for meat retailers. Conformance level measured past performance regarding food safety practices. Based on past performance, butchers were divided into “high performers” and “low performers”. “High performers” yielded high values of Attitude and Intention towards the Behaviour. For these, Attitude and Personal Norm emerge as predictors of the Intention to fully implement a HACCP system. For “low performers”, Personal Norm was the strongest predictor of Intention, with results pointing to the need for an intervention from the authorities to promote increased conformance to food safety practices. For both groups, neither Social Norm nor Perceived Behavioural Control acted as significant predictors of Intention.
- L'evolution des modeles de consommation au Portugal: motivations, comportements, orientationsPublication . Moura, Ana Pinto de
- Acceptance of fish and fish products by Portuguese young consumers: an exploratory study based on mothers’ evaluationPublication . Moura, Ana Pinto de; Cunha, Luís Miguel; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; Lima, Rui C.Portugal is one of the major fish consuming countries in the World, from where one may collect experiences in order to improve fish consumption in other countries. The aim of this research is to explore the factors that influence the consumption of fish and seafood among 8-14 year old children from the Oporto metropolitan area. A focus group was conducted with mothers of children to gain insights into their knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding the inclusion of fish and fish products as a regular part of their children’s diet. Narrative analysis was conducted based on Bardin content analysis. Findings indicated that children eat fish regularly, integrated into the family meal, and that mothers feel confident about their fish buying and preparation skills, leading them to incorporate fish regularly into family meals, with a choice of tastier easy to eat options.
- A comparative evaluation of women's perceptions and importance of sustainability in fish consumption: an exploratory study among light consumers with different education levelsPublication . Moura, Ana Pinto de; Cunha, Luís Miguel; Cunha, M. Castro; Lima, Rui CostaPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore women’s perceptions about the benefits and risks of fish consumption, while exploring differences on their views about wild and farmed fish, considering light fish consumers. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology adopted is exploratory, using focus group technique, segregating women by education level (higher education versus lower education). A focus group guide was designed, taking into account the following dimensions: attitudes towards fish consumption and perceptions towards farmed fish relative to wild fish, also considering risk perceptions related to farmed versus wild fish. Findings – This study has shown that fish consumers enjoy the taste of fish and they are strongly convinced that eating fish is healthy. The main reason for their low fish consumption is related to perceive lacking of convenience.Women with higher education levels expressed additional knowledge considering different aquaculture systems and women with lower education levels were convinced that both wild and farmed fish offer benefits and present disadvantages. Originality/value – The paper shows that attitudes of light fish users are partially similar to heavy fish users considering farmed fish production, with the search for convenience being driven by either perceived lack of time or perceived lack of cookery skills to prepare fish-based meals.