Consumer understanding of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is poor, and no consensus definition exists. This study examines how young adults in the United States (US) define UPF and their ability to differentiate UPF from non-UPF of varying nutritional quality (NQ). In a mixed-methods survey of young adults (18–39 years) living in the US for ≥1 year, respondents defined UPF, identified whether 24 foods were UPF or not using images with front and back of package information, and answered demographic questions. Foods were categorised using NOVA for processing and Food Compass for NQ. They included a high NQ non-UPF, low NQ non-UPF, high NQ UPF, and low NQ UPF item from six food groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, protein, and snacks/sweets. Concepts used to define UPF were reported as number of respondents mentioning each in their definition. A score of correct answers out of 24 was calculated. The sample of 422 adults, mean age 26.0±6.7 years, was predominantly white (82%), female (74%), and from the Northeast (82%). Thirty concepts were identified to define UPF. The top concepts were food containing additives, preservatives, colours/dyes, or natural or artificial flavours (N = 105), containing non-natural/artificial ingredients or food (N = 98), being highly processed/processed in multiple steps (N = 95), being altered, manipulated, or modified (N = 87), and having low nutritional value/nutrients removed (N = 75). The mean score was 16.0±3.6 (67%) foods. These results suggest limited consensus on how young adults define UPF. Studies in more diverse populations are needed, but consumers may benefit from a clear definition of UPF.

Present food systems threaten population and environmental health. Evidence suggests reduced meat and increased plant-based food consumption would align with climate change and health promotion priorities. Accelerating this transition requires greater understanding of determinants of plant-based food choice. A thriving plant-based food industry has emerged to meet consumer demand and support dietary shift towards plant-based eating. ‘Traditional’ plant-based diets are low-energy density, nutrient dense, low in saturated fat and purportedly associated with health benefits. However, fast-paced contemporary lifestyles continue to fuel growing demand for meat-mimicking plant-based convenience foods which are typically ultra-processed. Processing can improve product safety and palatability and enable fortification and enrichment. However, deleterious health consequences have been associated with ultra-processing, though there is a paucity of equivocal evidence regarding the health value of novel plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) and their capacity to replicate the nutritional profile of meat-equivalents. Thus, despite the health halo often associated with plant-based eating, there is a strong rationale to improve consumer literacy of PBMAs. Understanding the impact of extensive processing on health effects may help to justify the use of innovative methods designed to maintain health benefits associated with particular foods and ingredients. Furthering knowledge regarding the nutritional value of novel PBMAs will increase consumer awareness and thus support informed choice. Finally, knowledge of factors influencing engagement of target consumer subgroups with such products may facilitate production of desirable, healthier PBMAs. Such evidence-based food manufacturing practice has the potential to positively influence future individual and planetary health.

Background: Consumer perceptions of care are a key measure of service quality. The Consumer Perceptions of Care (CPoC) survey is often used to assess patients’ evaluations of the quality of services received. Aims: The study explored the factor structure of the CPoC, the relationships between perceived quality of care, empowerment, perceived treatment outcomes, and symptom change, as well as the effect of allowing patients to self-identify during the CPoC survey on their ratings of perceptions of care. Methods: In the first phase of the current study, 2,125 psychiatric inpatients were surveyed about their perceptions of care, and their symptoms were also measured at both admission and discharge. The second phase examined 720 inpatients who had given consent so that perceptions of care could be compared with outcome data. Results: Increased levels of empowerment were associated with favourable ratings of perceived treatment outcomes. Although perceived treatment outcomes and empowerment were correlated with actual symptom change, these correlations were small. Furthermore, the influence of self-identification on ratings of perceptions of care was found to be small. Conclusions: Examining patients’ perceived and actual treatment outcomes may provide mental health service providers with a more nuanced perspective of the hospital experiences of their patients.

Consumers implicitly incorporate their perceptions of products into their decision processes, yet little research has explicitly focused on how those perceptions influence demand for meat. This study incorporates taste, health, and safety perceptions into a discrete choice experiment for meat products at a grocery store. Our results indicate that taste is the most important perception as a 1-unit increase in the perceived tastiness (on a −5 to +5 scale) of a food product leads to a $0.60 increase in willingness to pay, whereas equivalent increases in perceived health and safety lead to $0.31 and $0.21 increases, respectively.

This study evaluates consumer perceptions of what “sustainably produced” food labels imply and estimates corresponding demand for products carrying these labels. Results suggest that the typical U.S. consumer is not willing to pay a positive premium for beef, tomatoes, or apple products labeled as “sustainably produced.” Demand is particularly sensitive to inferences consumers make regarding what a “sustainably produced” food label implies. Suggestions for future work and implications of standardizing the definition of sustainability are provided.

Consumers’ willingness to pay for postharvest-processed (PHP) raw oysters—oysters without health risks—is studied in experimental auction markets. The experimental design decomposes the effects of taste, objective risk information, and information on four PHP technologies on consumer valuations. Results show that relatively uninformed consumers are willing to pay equivalent amounts for PHP and traditional raw oysters. However, after a blind taste test, consumers are willing to pay a significant premium for traditional raw oysters, and the premium persists after objective information on risk and processing technologies is provided. The results are robust across PHP technologies.

Building on existing work evaluating food-attribute labels, we use data collected in 2010 from a national web-based survey of 1,002 households to examine consumer inferences and valuations of food products promoted as “sustainably produced.” A best-worst scale framework was implemented to identify how consumers define “sustainably produced” and their preferences for each of the sustainable farming practices considered. The results suggest that consumers perceive farm size and local production as important elements of sustainable agriculture while economic attributes exhibit a significant amount of heterogeneity, indicating segmentation in the sample and the potential for targeted marketing.

Health claims on food products, which aim at informing the public about the health benefits of the product, represent one type of nutrition communication; the use of these is regulated by the European Union. This paper provides an overview of the research on health claims, including consumers’ perceptions of such claims and their intention to buy products that carry health-related claims. This is followed by a discussion on the results from some recent studies investigating public perceptions and willingness to use products with health claims. In these studies, claims are presented in the form of messages of different lengths, types, framing, with and without qualifying words and symbols. They also investigate how perceptions and intentions are affected by individual needs and product characteristics. Results show that adding health claims to products does increase their perceived healthiness. Claim structure was found to make a difference to perceptions, but its influence depended on the level of relevance, familiarity and individuals’ need for information. Further, the type of health benefit proposed and the base product used also affected perceptions of healthiness. The paper concludes that while healthiness perceptions relating to products with health claims may vary between men and women, old and young and between countries, the main factor influencing perceived healthiness and intention to buy a product with health claim is personal relevance.

We surveyed a total of 549 Cooperative Extension clientele (consumers), farmstand owners, and food industry representatives in New England to assess the potential for certification and labelling of produce grown using integrated pest management (IPM). The survey elicited self-reported knowledge of IPM, perceptions of current pesticide use and IPM, and attitudes toward certification and labelling of produce as “IPMGrown.” The respondents expressed widespread support for certification and labelling of produce grown using IPM. Potential barriers to the marketing of IPM-labelled produce were also revealed. The survey showed the need for education to inform the public about pest management in agriculture and to build confidence in the safety of our food supply.