What do Spanish consumers think about employing nanotechnology in food packaging?

[EN] Food packaging is essential in food preservation and distribution. This sector is constantly evolving to develop more sustainable packaging materials with greater functionality to guarantee quality and food safety. In line with this, nanotechnology is being widely studied for its high potential...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Pérez-Esteve, Édgar|||0000-0002-0452-1394, Barat Baviera, José Manuel|||0000-0001-8487-7114, Fernández Segovia, Isabel|||0000-0002-7641-2680, Alcover, Ana
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/198490
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/198490
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Food packaging
Nanotechnology
Spanish consumers
New technologies
Neophobia
TECNOLOGIA DE ALIMENTOS
02.- Poner fin al hambre, conseguir la seguridad alimentaria y una mejor nutrición, y promover la agricultura sostenible
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] Food packaging is essential in food preservation and distribution. This sector is constantly evolving to develop more sustainable packaging materials with greater functionality to guarantee quality and food safety. In line with this, nanotechnology is being widely studied for its high potential to improve different packaging aspects. As the use of new technologies can influence consumers product acceptance, it is essential to determine consumer perceptions. This work aimed to evaluate consumer opinion about different food packaging types for which nanotechnology is used to improve some of their properties. First a literature review was performed to determine which applications are fully developed or being developed with a high potential to be implemented into food packaging for different purposes. The most important ones were selected for covering different functionalities and food types. Second a consumer opinion and purchase intention study was conducted with a survey (713 valid cases) to evaluate these applications and to assess neophobia to new technologies. The results showed that the population had a medium level of neophobia. The least neophobic consumers and those with more nanotech-nology knowledge better valued each product. All products with nanotechnology in their packaging obtained positive evaluations. The best valued applications were those which provided information about food quality/ safety (time-temperature indicator or cold chain loss), while the worst valued were those in which nanomaterials interacted with food (active packaging).