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Publication
Conceptualization of rice with low glycemic index: perspectives from the major european consumers
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Rice 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.
Description
Keywords
Consumers’ perceptions Consumption Free word association Glycaemic index Portugal Rice
Citation
Cabral, D., Fonseca, S.C., Moura, A. P., Oliveira, J.C., & Cunha, L. M. (2022). Conceptualization of rice with low glycemic index: perspectives from the major European consumers. Foods, 11, 2172. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11142172
Publisher
MDPI