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[Display omitted] • Wild food plants (WFP) are helpful for maintaining the food and socioeconomic security of harvesting populations. • Food products with names associated with WFP lower consumer expectations regarding taste and appropriateness. • Food products with names associated with forest environments lower consumer expectations regarding taste and appropriateness. • This marketing strategies to popularize WFP can include associating the product with a conventional plant to evoke familiarity; This marketing strategies to popularize WFP can while keeping its original name to contribute to cultural valuation. • Empowerment programs for harvesters can assist in sustainable development and ensure the biocultural conservation of WFP. Despite the high global richness of food plants, only a small portion is effectively used as food by human populations. Although most wild food plants (WFPs) are underutilized as food, they can contribute to food security and biocultural conservation through sustainable management. The goal of this research was to identify the best terminological presentation of a novel food product and to understand the factors that influence the expectations concerning products made with WFPs. This research was conducted using an online questionnaire, with a final national sample of 724 people. The participants answered questions about their socioeconomic profile, food neophobia, previous knowledge, and expectations regarding the taste and appropriateness of native fruit juices. The questions were randomized, so that a person would not receive the same picture or product name more than once. The results show that taste expectancy decreases in relation to products associated with WFP names and forest environments. Food neophobia is the variable that influences expectations the most. To ensure biocultural conservation and cultural valuation, WFP popularization programs should maintain the original (popular) name of the species. However, to help more distant consumers develop familiarity, the flavor, shape, color, or texture of these products can be associated with those of conventional plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The present study used a one-year longitudinal design in Chinese older adults. • Eating correlates of atypical sensory sensitivity (ASS) were examined. • Baseline ASS was positively related to ARFID psychopathology one year later. • Baseline ASS was positively related to food neophobia symptoms one year later. • Baseline ASS was negatively related to food life satisfaction one year later. Altered sensory processing is common in older adults, and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) psychopathology and food neophobia contribute to adverse health outcomes in older adults. Yet, the relationships, particularly longitudinal relationships, between sensory processing, ARFID psychopathology, and food neophobia, as well as their associations with satisfaction with food-related life (SWFL), remain unexplored in older adults. A sample of Chinese older adults (N = 202; 45 % men; M age = 59.35 years) completed an online survey at baseline (T1) and 12 months later (T2); atypical sensory sensitivity, ARFID psychopathology, food neophobia, and SWFL were measured with self-report questionnaires. Cross-lagged and mediation regression analyses were conducted to examine the prospective associations between T1 atypical sensory sensitivity and T2 ARFID psychopathology, food neophobia, and SWFL. The results revealed that higher T1 atypical sensory sensitivity predicted higher T2 ARFID psychopathology and food neophobia and lower SWFL. The results also showed that the relationship between T1 atypical sensory sensitivity and T2 SWFL was mediated by T2 picky eating and food neophobia. These findings suggest that atypical sensory sensitivity may be a risk factor for ARFID psychopathology, food neophobia, and poor SWFL in older adults. Future studies with larger samples and experimental designs are needed to further explore the mechanisms linking atypical sensory sensitivity and ARFID psychopathology, food neophobia, and SWFL in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The 6-item CFNS-PK exhibited high validity and reliability metrics. • The prevalence of food neophobia among Pakistani preschoolers was 22.3 %. • Preschooler's FN was correlated with their age, gender and maternal education status. The evaluation of food neophobia in preschool-aged children is crucial as it helps in understanding their eating habits, ensuring their nutritional adequacy, and promoting healthier food choices from an early age. This study aimed to culturally adapt the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS) for Pakistan, determine the prevalence of preschooler's food neophobia and find out its correlation with different demographic characteristics. The CFNS was translated into Urdu language following the WHO scale translation guidelines. After that, various validity (construct validity, content validity, discriminant validity) and reliability (internal consistency, test–retest consistency, and composite reliability) measures were used to test the translated CFNS. The sample size consisted of 260 mother–child pairs from four kindergartens across three cities. About 64.6 % of the preschoolers were aged 55 to 72 months. Whereas the maternal mean age was 30.1 ± 5.9 years. The Child Food Neophobia Scale for Pakistan (CFNS-PK) retained all 6 items from the original scale and exhibited satisfactory validity (χ2/ df = 1.28; TLI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.04; AVE > 0.05 and CVI = 0.80) and reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.80; Kappa > 0.07; CR > 0.7) indicators. Furthermore, the prevalence of preschooler food neophobia was found to be 22.3 %. Whereas preschooler age, gender and maternal education level was correlated with preschooler's food neophobia occurrence. Findings suggest that the 6 item CFNS-PK exhibited high validity and reliability metrics, making it suitable for use in food neophobia assessments among Pakistani children. Furthermore, the high prevalence of food neophobia among Pakistani preschoolers calls for attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Preschoolers' texture preferences can be assessed by a forced-choice questionnaire. • Children preferred foods without particles, which was related to food neophobia. • Older children preferred soft foods more than younger children. • Texture preferences significantly differed between parents and children. • Agreement between the questionnaire and actual preference test increased with age. Rejection of specific food textures in young children can be a significant barrier to establishing healthy eating habits. However, the literature on texture preferences in children under seven is sparse, partially due to a lack of suitable test tools for this age range. This study aims to investigate texture preferences in 3 to 6-year-old children and their parents and identify factors that could influence children's preferences. Children (n = 235) completed a forced-choice questionnaire based on pictographic drawings of 14 pairs of foods differing in hardness (hard versus soft) or particle content (with-particle versus no-particle). Parents completed the same questionnaire and provided information on their feeding practices and children's eating behaviors. To assess the questionnaire's validity, children performed a paired preference test using actual food stimuli corresponding to 6 food pairs in the questionnaire. Results showed that children preferred foods without particles, and such preference was associated with food neophobia. Children did not show distinct preferences for foods differing in hardness, but older children preferred soft foods more than younger children. Texture preferences significantly differed between parents and children, with a low concordance between parent–child dyads (49–55 %). Parental restrictive feeding was associated with children's rejection of particles in foods, whereas children's experience with different textures was associated with preferences for foods containing particles. Moreover, the questionnaire showed agreement with children's preferences measured using actual foods, and the validity increased with age. This study demonstrated that young children's texture preferences follow developmental trends and depend on the eating environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Relationships between Food Neophobia and personality were examined. • Food Neophobia was represented by two factors, approach and avoidance tendencies. • Approach tendencies were positively related to Openness and Agreeableness. • Avoidance tendencies were negatively related to Openness and Extraversion. • Preference for novel foods may consist of two distinct negatively related processes. Abstract Although food neophobia is a widely researched individual difference, little is known about relationships between food neophobia and personality. Participants in the present study (716 undergraduates) completed measures of the Five Factor Model of personality and food neophobia. A factor analysis suggested that food neophobia consisted of two factors, which we labeled as approach and avoidance factors. Multiple regression analyses found that scores on the approach factor were positively related to Agreeableness and Openness, whereas scores on the avoidance factor were negatively related to Extraversion and Openness. These findings suggest that it might be useful to think of food neophobia as consisting of two distinct, albeit related factors, and that the origins of food neophobia may lie, at least partially, in basic personality characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Perceived infectability does not predict insect-disgust or WTE insects. • Trait-level pathogen disgust sensitivity does not predict insect-disgust or WTE insects. • Perceived social norms predict insect eating behavior. Abstract Insects are a highly sustainable and nutritious source of protein, and, thus, incorporating insects in to Western food culture is one way to address major global challenges like global warming and deforestation. Consumer studies show, however, that Westerners' willingness to eat insect-containing food is low. One formidable barrier is the perception that insects are disgusting, and it is generally believed that this insect-disgust is driven by a fear of contamination and disease. Another barrier is the lack of social norms related to entomophagy in the West. In the present study, we tested effects of fear of contamination and perceived social eating norm with a survey and a tasting session administered to a Danish college sample (N = 189). Correlation analyses and multivariate regression analyses revealed that selfreported trait-level Pathogen Disgust and Perceived Infectability did not consistently predict insect eating disgust, willingness to eat insects, or actual insect tasting behavior in the tasting session. In contrast, perceived insect eating norm emerged as a significant predictor of insect tasting behavior. These findings suggest that perceived social norms play a substantial role in Westerners' (un)willingness to eat insects. The result gives reason for optimism for aspirations of introducing insects in Western food diet and point to avenues for harnessing social norms in marketing efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Food neophobia can be a contributing factor to nutritional risk in older adults. • Average food neophobia score was moderate in a sample of 250 older adults. • Food neophobia was not related to older adult health-related variables. Abstract Older adults are the fastest growing demographic worldwide and are also at increased nutritional risk. Food neophobia, the reluctance to eat and/or avoidance of novel foods, can be a contributing factor to nutritional risk and research in older adults is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine food neophobia and attitudes toward new foods in a sample of older adults. A total of 250 community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) were recruited to complete a researcher-administered questionnaire that explored attitudes towards new foods and food neophobia, which was assessed using the 10-question Food Neophobia Scale. Cronbach's alpha for the Food Neophobia Scale was 0.82, indicating a high degree of internal validity. Food neophobia scores were normally distributed with a mean ± SE of 29.6 ± 0.70. Participants were divided into three groups based on their food neophobia score: low (10–23; n = 81), medium (24–33; n = 88) and high (34–67; n = 81). Participants with a high degree of food neophobia were less willing to try new foods or food products (p < 0.0001). Participant demographic (age, sex, ethnicity, education, annual household income) and health (number of prescription medications and diagnosed health conditions) characteristics did not significantly differ among food neophobia groups. This data adds to the limited literature on food neophobia in older adults and supports the need for further investigation into potential determinants of food neophobia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Food Neophobia increased between ages one and two, across cultures analyzed. • Lower Food Neophobia linked to higher vegetable intake in childhood. • Lower Food Neophobia associated with a more varied childhood diet. This study analyzed the evolution of food neophobia (FN) in early childhood across different cultures (Chile, China, and US). FN was measured in mothers and children using maternal reports through a 6-items version of the FN Scale. One hundred and five mothers of 1-year old children completed a survey in two consecutive years, answering questions about demographics, eating habits and FN. According to our results, independently of the country of origin, there is a significant increase in children's FN between 1 and 2 years of age (p <.001). Moreover, when all the data was analyzed together, mothers showed to be less neophobic than their children at 2 years of age, but not at 1 year of age (p <.001); however, this difference was not consistent across countries (p <.01). Among mothers, FNs differed according to the country of origin, with Californian mothers being the least neophobic (p <.01). Regarding the effect of children's eating habits on their levels of FN, the results showed that FN varied significantly with vegetable intake (p <.001) and food variety (p <.001), where the children who ate more vegetables and had a more varied diet were less neophobic. Finally, no significant difference in children's FN was found between genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Attitude, perceived usefulness and level of innovation are important factors that influence the acceptability of the technology behind upcycling food. • Efforts remain to be made at the consumer level to overcome psychological barriers to accept the technology behind circular economy. • There is negative and significant effect of sensory appeal through the emotion of disgust on attitude towards upcycled foods. • The model failed to yield significant results of age on intention to consume these products. In light of the global overproduction and overconsumption, the circular economy in the agri-food sector is intended as a way out to overcome the alarming problem of food waste. While the literature is mainly focused on the industrial process and its implementation, the acceptance of the technology behind upcycled food remains unexplored. By incorporating elements of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the aim of this article is to adapt the TAM to the upcycled foods to improve our understanding of consumer willingness to accept food products from the circular economy through the study of the acceptability of the innovation behind these products. 726 participants passed the attention control test to ensure a good quality of the data. The resulting data confirmed the important roles of attitude, perceived usefulness, and individual variables as well as the level of innovation in the acceptability of the technology behind upcycling food and allowed an attempt to provide better visibility on the factors that influence the social acceptability of the circular economy as a solution to the problem of food waste. Efforts remain to be made at the consumer level to overcome still-significant psychological barriers to accept the technology behind circular economy when applied in the food sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tools that specifically measure food disgust sensitivity are scarce. This gap has been successfully filled with the recently developed eight-item version of the Food Disgust Scale (FDS short). In the present study, we tested the validity of this measure with three behavioural tasks that we designed. Participants ( N  = 108) filled in questionnaires before they tried three products as part of a behavioural task covered as tasting experiment. We presented these products with written scenarios, which aimed to induce disgust. For all three tasks, we found a significant correlation between the amount participants consumed and their FDS short score. In the first task, we presented participants with a meat product ( r  = −0.34, p  < .001); in the second task, it was a banana juice ( r s  = −0.26, p  < .01); and in the final task, we presented participants with an insect product ( r s  = −0.51, p  < .001). A regression analysis confirmed that participants’ FDS short score acted as a significant predictor for eating behaviour in the meat ( ß  = −0.26, p  < .05) and the chocolate task (odds ratio  =  0.51), however, it did not reach statistical significance in the juice task (odds ratio  =  0.66). In this paper, we present two important findings. First, we provide evidence for the influence of food disgust sensitivity on people’s eating behaviour as measured by the amount they consumed. Second, and more importantly, our data support the incremental validity of the FDS short as assessed through its correlation with three behavioural tasks and provide evidence for the suitability of self-report measures such as the FDS short. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is to explore the association between food neophobia and chemosensory responsiveness and to determine whether this association translates into different food liking and preference patterns. Data were collected on 1225 respondents (61% females, age 20–60 years) as part of the Italian Taste project. Respondents completed the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) as well as a food preference and familiarity questionnaire for a number of foods and beverages categorized as mild or strong tasting. Moreover, they evaluated attribute intensity and liking of an actual food (dark chocolate pudding) varying in the level of sweetness, bitterness and astringency. Taste function was evaluated by measuring fungiform papillae density (FPD), responsiveness to PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) and to water solutions representing various oro-sensory qualities. High, medium and low neophobic subjects did not differ for FPD and chemosensory responsiveness. Reported liking was significantly lower for high neophobics than low neophobics mainly for those vegetables and beverages characterized by high levels of warning stimuli (i.e. bitterness, sourness, astringency and alcohol), whereas almost no differences were found for the bland versions of food items. High and medium neophobics rated astringency and, to a lesser extent, bitterness of the dark chocolate pudding, as more intense than low neophobics and liked the most bitter and astringent variants significantly less than low neophobics. Differences in liking, however, do not seem to be mediated by high food neophobics’ superior taste functioning but rather by higher levels of arousal when eating food and/or drinking beverages that are perceived as unpleasant and potentially dangerous. Finally, the effect of food neophobia was evident not only for unusual items in the Italian food context, but even for items that might be considered highly familiar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great deal of attention has been dedicated to entomophagy (i.e., the eating of insects) in Western Europe in the last few years. Several studies have accounted for the importance of entomophagy, the evaluation of insects’ nutritional benefits, and their potential for the market. Specifically, predictors of the acceptance and consumption of edible insects, including attitudinal beliefs and values, have been examined by means of mathematical models. This study provides an overview of the predictors that are currently used to explain the willingness to consume insects. Based on a survey conducted in Switzerland, this study includes, to the best of our knowledge, all these predictors in an encompassing tobit regression model and reports the magnitude of their effects to select a set of predictors that can be used for future studies. Moreover, it discusses the interaction-effects between those predictors. We found a set of nine significant variables reliably predicting the willingness to consume insects: convenience orientation, the discernibility of insects in food, expected food healthiness, the need for familiarity, food neophobia, food technology neophobia, the perceived health benefits of meat, and the binary variables gender and prior consumption. For the present data, food neophobia was not found to be the key predictor of willingness to consume insects, but shares its rank with various predictors. Further, the analysis revealed one meaningful two-way interaction effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the well-established effect of food neophobia on children’s variety of food consumption, the availability of valid measures of food neophobia in young children is necessary. We studied a Portuguese version of the Child’s Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS), assessing its validity and reliability. The CFNS was completed by 388 parents of 2-to 6-year-old children. Construct validity was examined through an exploratory factorial analysis and a confirmatory factorial analysis. Measurement invariance (child’s age and sex) and reliability analysis were examined. Correlational analyses between the CFNS and children’s eating habits, food preferences and temperament dimensions were run. The results support a two-factor solution, suggesting two opposite dimensions: Food Neophobia and Food Neophilia . Invariance analysis showed the same structure for both age groups (2- to 4- vs. 5- to 6-year old), although only partial metric invariance across sex groups was attained. For both Food Neophobia and Food Neophilia subscales, good internal consistency and excellent test–retest reliability were achieved, as well as a moderate negative association between the two groups of items. Higher scores in Food Neophobia and lower scores in Food Neophilia were significantly correlated with a more inhibited temperament, lower preference for healthy foods, acceptance of fewer foods, less frequent consumption of healthy foods, and consumption of a smaller variety of fruits, vegetables and legumes. Children’s unhealthy food intake was not associated with both CNFS subscales. Our preliminary findings support the adequacy of this version of CFNS for the Portuguese population. Further studies are needed to confirm the two-dimensional structure of the scale and explore the implications of this structure. Assessing children’s willingness to try new foods: validation of a Portuguese version of the Child's Food Neophobia Scale for parents of young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of portion size on long-term acceptability was examined in two types of novel green-tea drinks containing flavors (passion-fruit flavor or osmanthus flavor). The drinks were formulated by adding each flavor to green-tea infusion and served at 10 ± 2 °C. For passion-fruit drink, two groups of participants consumed either a small (15 ml) or a large-portion (75 ml) and rated their liking using 15 cm line scale over 10 sessions. For osmanthus drink, ad libitum protocol was added besides small and large-portion protocols. Repeated exposure led to an overall increase in liking of the drinks and the patterns of increase differed according to the portion size as well as the type of flavor. For the passion-fruit drink, the mean liking scores of large-portion group were higher than those of small-portion group throughout the sessions but the patterns of increase were not greatly different. For the osmanthus drink, more consistent increase in liking was shown in large-portion group than in small-portion group. The most rapid increase was observed in ad libitum protocol. However, an issue of uncontrolled amount of intake remains to be studied. It was also found that the liking of osmanthus drink of high-neophobic group showed gradual increase in large-portion protocol, whereas a significant increase didn’t occur in small-portion protocol. From the result of this study, large-portion size of sample is recommended in long-term acceptability test of new food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The function of disgust as a pathogen avoidance promoter in the food domain is not well understood. One problem is that no food-specific disgust scale is available. Thus, we developed and validated the Food Disgust Scale (FDS) through a series of five studies. The FDS is a self-report measure that enables the assessment of an individual’s emotional disposition to react with disgust to certain food-related (offensive) stimuli. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to develop eight FDS subscales that represent unique types of food disgust: animal flesh, poor hygiene, human contamination, mold, decaying fruit, fish, decaying vegetables, and living contaminants. The subscales showed good internal consistencies across three different adult samples ( N between 170 and 527). Alongside the 32-item version, an 8-item composite measure was developed and tested. Validity was supported by correlational analysis between the revised version of the Disgust Scale, germ aversion, food neophobia, picky eating, and individuals’ number of food-borne illnesses in the last five years. In addition, two-week test-retest reliability was very good. Incremental validity was supported in an eating experiment (i.e., willingness to eat insect-based food). The new scale will not only help improve the understanding of how food disgust shapes people’s food behavior in a functional and dysfunctional way, but will also help enhance the understanding of consumer acceptance of new foods and food technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• FN influences hedonic rating indirectly via arousal, supporting the arousal hypothesis. • The indirect effect of arousal was dependent on the type of sample evaluated. • Arousal and intensity ratings (aroma and flavor) were positively correlated. • FN and food technology neophobia were inversely related to purchase intention. Seafood could support the transition away from terrestrial animal-source foods towards more sustainable protein sources. Food neophobia (FN), the reluctance to eat novel foods (which also extends to many familiar foods including seafood), is a known barrier to dietary change. This study investigates the relationship between FN and consumers' acceptance of novel surimi-based products shaped to resemble pasta; and explores the role of emotional arousal experienced during tasting. Consumers (N = 211) completed the Food Neophobia Scale prior to the tasting session and were quasi-randomized to either the blind (N = 107; given no information about the content of the samples) or informed condition (N = 104; informed that the samples derived from fish), to ensure a similar FN distribution across groups. Respondents tasted three variants (pollock, cod, or salmon) of a surimi-based product at a central location in Sweden. Each sample was rated in terms of hedonics, experienced emotional arousal (from 1- relaxed to 7- anxious), overall perceived aroma and flavor intensity, and freely described for flavor character. Attitudes (positive/negative) towards the concept were also described by respondents with free text. In line with previous studies, results showed negative associations between FN and both hedonic ratings and purchase intention. Moreover, mediation analysis suggested that the relationship between FN and hedonic liking was indirectly explained by emotional arousal, implying that higher arousal may be mechanistic in describing how FN negatively impacts liking. The effect of FN was, however, not observed for the salmon sample which evoked higher levels of arousal overall and may have also been perceived as more familiar due to high salmon consumption in Sweden. These results support the arousal hypothesis of FN and contribute to further understanding the mechanisms underpinning FN, highlighting the relevance of incorporating emotional measurements in sensory evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Anthropomorphism can be a helpful tactic for promoting insect foods. • Psychological closeness mediates the anthropomorphic effect on purchase intention. • Food neophobia moderates the anthropomorphic effect on purchase intention. There is growing academic and practical interest in entomophagy as a viable and sustainable solution to the environmental problems of conventional livestock production and future food crises. Although researchers are examining how to effectively increase consumer acceptance of insect food, the existing findings of relevant studies are limited. This study examined whether and how anthropomorphism, one of the most widely used marketing tactics for product promotions, affects consumers' purchase intentions for insect foods. The results of these two studies demonstrate that anthropomorphic packaging can increase consumers' purchase intentions for insect foods. Moreover, the effect of anthropomorphism on purchase intention was mediated by perceived psychological closeness to insect food. Our study demonstrates the moderating effect of food neophobia. Specifically, when an individual has a high food neophobia score, the effect of psychological closeness on purchase intention is weakened. This study is the first to demonstrate that anthropomorphic packaging can be a desirable tactic to increase consumers' purchase intentions for insect foods, and reveals how and when the tactic is effective in promoting these foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Plant-based meat substitutes were preferred to cultured and hybrid meat. • Flexitarians were more knowledgeable of food sustainability than omnivores. • Familiarity was an important predictor of willingness to buy meat alternatives. • Hybrid meat could be a viable option for reducing meat consumption. As a result of the ongoing climate crisis, there is a growing need to decrease meat consumption worldwide. This study sought to investigate Dutch and Finnish consumers' attitudes toward plant-based meat substitutes, cultured meat, and hybrid meat products. It also aimed to determine how those attitudes relate to the consumers' meat attachment, food neophobia, and food sustainability knowledge. An online survey was conducted among omnivore and flexitarian participants from the Netherlands (n = 126, 72% female, 62% flexitarian) and Finland (n = 250, 71% female, 52% flexitarian). The results showed that the omnivore participants tended to be more meat attached, score higher in terms of food neophobia, and exhibit less knowledge of food sustainability when compared with the participants with flexitarian diets. Furthermore, the results revealed that meat substitutes and hybrid meat products scored significantly higher regarding the participants' overall attitude score than cultured meat, although the participants' willingness to buy both hybrid meat products and cultured meat was significantly lower than their willingness to buy meat substitutes. The willingness to buy the three types of alternatives to meat was influenced by the country, diet, age, gender, familiarity, food sustainability knowledge, food neophobia, and meat attachment. Based on these results, it can be concluded that flexitarians represent an important target population for the promotion of meat alternatives and that hybrid meat products could be a viable option for reducing meat consumption if it is properly promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategies adopted to encourage children to taste fruits and vegetables (FV) tend to focus on immediate tasting. However there is some recent research which suggests that non-taste sensory tasks may encourage acceptance. The purpose of the current study was to compare the efficacy of different sensory tasks in encouraging novel food acceptance in school children. One hundred and two children aged between 4 and 8 years (53 males and 47 females) were recruited from schools in the Leicester region of the UK during September-December 2015. Children were randomly allocated to one of four conditions, each of which varied according to two factors; a stimuli factor (real FV vs photographs of FV) and a task factor (bingo game vs categorisation). Baseline stimuli preference ratings for featured FV and food neophobia were measured. After the task child consumption (grammes) of a novel fruit (pomegranate) and a novel vegetable (fresh soya beans) was measured. The use of real FV tasks led to increased consumption of both the fruit (+4.01 g, p < 0.001 ) and the vegetable (+3.42 g, p < 0.05 ). The conditions in which children played a game, compared to a sorting task, led to increased vegetable consumption (+2.47 g, p < 0.05 ). This is the first study to examine whether playing games with foods immediately before a tasting session will increase consumption. Rather than emphasising tasting alone, it is believed that more creative strategies should be adopted to make FV tasting exciting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative protein sources are predicted to claim a substantial part of the protein market in the future. Insects are regularly consumed in many countries around the world, but in Western countries, consumption of edible insects is restricted to experimental restaurants as a delicacy and to specialized food items based on insect protein. There are three main hurdles facing the edible insect sector: consumer acceptance, technology and regulation. The aim of our study was to make the first step to understand the readiness of Hungarian consumers (East-Central Europe) to adopt insects. We found, that insect-based food might attract consumers who seek new food choice options and who intend to reduce meat intake. In line with previous findings, for European consumers, food neophobia is a barrier for the consumption of insects. The food industry should focus on processed foods with insect based food ingredients within a familiar product category or flavor profile. Respondents had limited knowledge and were not convinced of the additional health benefits of consumption of insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A pictographic questionnaire was developed and validated to measure children's texture preferences. • Children showed consistency in food choice between questionnaire and tasting. • The questionnaire demonstrated test–retest repeatability and validity. • Differences in preferences for hardness or particle content of foods were identified. Methods for measuring food texture preferences in children are based on forced-choice questionnaires where children select their preferred texture within food pairs. However, the validity of these methods has not been well documented. This study aims to develop and validate a questionnaire based on pictographic drawings of 12 pairs of foods differing in hardness or particle content. Children aged 7 to 10 years (n = 97) completed the questionnaire. Three weeks later, a subgroup of these children (n = 75) performed a paired comparison preference test using actual food stimuli corresponding to 6 food pairs in the questionnaire and an acceptance test on two foods varying in the level of hardness (cheese) or particle content (yogurt). Another group of the children (n = 21) was retested with the questionnaire. The average probability of agreement between children's choices in the questionnaire and paired-preference test was 0.67, while the retesting was 0.83. In both assessments, the agreement probability was significantly above the chance level, and there was no significant effect of food pair, age or gender. The questionnaire results revealed differences in preferences for the two textural dimensions. Children showed a lack of a common pattern of hardness preference but a preference for foods without particles. Individual differences in particle preferences were related to food neophobia level, and liking of yogurt varying in the amount of added fruit pieces. The results demonstrated the validity and usefulness of the forced-choice pictographic method to study differences in children's texture preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We studied the effects of colour on food perception in picky and non-picky eaters. Colour influenced the saltiness and desirability of food snacks in picky eaters only. • Saltiness was highest in the blue and least desirable in the red condition. In this study colour affected perceived food taste in picky but non-picky eaters. Picky eating is characterized by a limited intake and avoidance of foods which can increase health risks, including nutritional deficiencies and health related disease. It is therefore important to understand the factors that act to 'push and pull' such picky eating behaviour. Previous research has demonstrated that the smell and texture of food can affect taste perception in picky eaters, but little is known about other multisensory attributes. In the study here, we aimed to examine whether colour influences perception of food in picky eaters. Participants (N = 47) were categorized as Picky or Non-Picky Eaters on the basis of their responses to a standardized measure of Food Neophobia (FNS). They then completed a taste sensitivity test (PROP) followed by a food tasting task, where they sampled the same snack served in three different coloured (red, blue, white) bowls. Results revealed that both the perceived saltiness and desirability of the snack were influenced by colour in the Picky but not Non-Picky Eaters. Specifically, the snack was rated as higher in saltiness in the red and blue versus white bowl condition and least desirable when served in the red bowl. These findings are discussed with reference to more specific measures of categorising picky eating and provide preliminary evidence that the perception of food in Picky Eaters depends on the serving receptacle colour and offer potentially simple interventions for those with a restricted food repertoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Contextual factors can reduce food neophobia. • Food neophobia decreased with gastronomic heterogeneity in the neighborhood. • For liberals, neophobia decreased with heterogeneity in both neighborhood and city. • These data help explain the association between place of residence and neophobia. This paper reports an empirical study investigating the negative relationship between the perceived exposure of individuals to a heterogeneous gastronomic environment and their level of food neophobia, over and above the known individual antecedents. In addition, considering the social roots of food neophobia, we tested whether participants' political orientation moderated this relationship. Our results confirmed these hypotheses: liberals' food neophobia decreased with increasing gastronomic heterogeneity, but this was not true for conservatives. The implications of these findings are important in both theory and practice as they highlight a contextual factor that may reduce food neophobia, an individual orientation that has a negative impact on both health and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We studied how EEG brain potentials toward food stimuli vary with food neophobia. • Late positive potential amplitude toward food pictures increase with food neophobia. • Inter-subject correlations toward a food movie increase with food neophobia. • Results indicate that food neophobia increases attention to familiar & unfamiliar food. • Food neophobia affects processing of food regardless of familiarity from early on. Humans differ strongly in their willingness to try novel foods. Hesitance to try new foods is referred to as food neophobia. Understanding food neophobia is important, as it can be a significant barrier to adopt a healthy, balanced or plant-based diet. We here use electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings to obtain insight in the early attentional processes towards food stimuli as a function of food neophobia. 43 Dutch participants completed the food neophobia scale after which they were presented with pictures of familiar and unfamiliar foods and a 15-minute movie about the origin and production of an unfamiliar food. We extracted two EEG-based metrics of attention: the late positive potential (LPP) amplitude in response to the food pictures, and inter-subject correlations (ISC-EEG) during the movie. The latter is a novel metric, based on similarities in EEG over time between individuals who are presented with the same stimulus, and suitable for examining attention towards continuous stimuli such as movies. Additionally, participants were asked to taste familiar and unfamiliar soups, and they were asked to rate the pictures and soups for valence and arousal. ISC-EEG and the LPP amplitude increased and sip size decreased with food neophobia, not only for unfamiliar food pictures, but also for familiar food pictures. Self-reported emotional experience was affected by food neophobia for unfamiliar food pictures or soups, but not for familiar ones. We conclude that food neophobia is associated with increased attentional processing and immediate implicit behavior, for all food stimuli and not only for unfamiliar food stimuli. This indicates that all food-related stimuli are of high importance to food neophobic individuals and that self-reported emotion does not capture the entire experience of food. The results also indicates that, unlike the name suggest, food neophobia does not only affect processing of novel foods, but of any food regardless of familiarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• • Presents the first tests of visual ability specific to prepared food. • • Gender, interest in visual recognition and object recognition ability predict food recognition. • • Beyond domain-general predictors, food neophobia predicts food recognition ability. Food neophobia (FN), or the tendency to avoid novel foods, is associated with poor health. Most correlates of FN come from self-report, making it difficult to identify behavioral correlates that may be treatment targets. To begin to fill this gap, we explore the association between FN and the ability to visually recognize images of prepared food. We created the first two tasks specifically designed to measure the visual ability to recognize food and demonstrate their reliability and validity. In a convenience sample of adults, we find that individual differences in FN are negatively related to the ability to recognize images of food, after controlling for a large contribution from domain-general visual recognition ability, and influences of gender and general interest in visual recognition. These results are consistent with the possibility that FN and visual ability to recognize foods could be linked in a feedback loop that is mediated by familiarity. Our work provides tools that should facilitate the exploration of this mechanism, which may maintain the avoidance of novel foods that is commonly observed in FN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the relevance of product positioning for a new food product on its potential acceptance by consumers, this paper reports the results of an experiment conducted to test how food neophobic and food neophilics react to different new food positioning strategies. Two unfamiliar foods were used to examine the impact of three different product positioning strategies that stressed (1) utilitarian benefits, (2) hedonic benefits, and (3) symbolic benefits. The study used a 3 × 2 between-subjects quasi-experimental design (N = 180). The principal finding of the study is that for neophilic consumers, hedonic benefits seem to be significantly more attractive than utilitarian or symbolic benefits when the perceived level of unfamiliarity of the new food is high. For neophobic consumers, results provide partial evidence of more positive reactions to symbolic benefits compared to the other two benefits considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of sensory quality and various consumer characteristics on consumer acceptance of berry fruits were studied. Voluntary respondents (n = 357) first filled an online questionnaire rating the liking, familiarity and usage of 14 different berries and then the Food Neophobia (FNS) and General Health Interest (GHI) scales. Respondents then performed a sensory test (n = 87) where they profiled nine berries using Projective Mapping. Berry samples were classified to four groups according to the results. The first group, generally liked berries (strawberries, bilberries and raspberries) were described as sweet, not sour and not bitter. The generally least-liked berries were described as unfamiliar. Two other groups were a medium group (e.g. black and red currants) without any special descriptors and a less-liked but divisive group (e.g. lingonberries, cranberries and sea buckthorn) described as sour, bitter and strong. Gender, age, FNS and GHI affected the liking ratings: females, older, more neophilic and more health interested participants gave higher ratings than male, younger, more neophobic and less health interested participants. However, the effects were more significant in less-liked berries. Different strategies are needed for variously perceived berry fruits in order to increase their consumption and exploitation among consumers and in food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food neophobia is a personality trait that can influence children’s food preferences and, therefore, their intake of different food groups. The association between food neophobia and nutritional status (both anthropometric and body composition measures) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Spanish children and adolescents with food neophobia show a different Mediterranean diet quality and different body composition measures compared with their non-neophobic peers. A community sample of 831 participants (368 males and 463 females) aged between 8 and 16 years were classified into three groups based on scores obtained on the Spanish Child Food Neophobia Scale. The results showed that food neophobia was not related to either BMI or body fat percentage, although neophobic children did have slightly lower weight and skeletal muscle mass than their neophilic counterparts. The KidMed index showed that neophobic children and adolescents presented a poorer quality of Mediterranean diet, due to a lower intake of fruit, vegetables, and fish, a higher intake of sweets or candy, and by reason of having an unbalanced breakfast. Neophobia was more common among females than males, but its occurrence was similar across age groups. These findings support previous research suggesting that neophobia impacts on diet quality. However, no relationship between diet and BMI was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects are highly valued as food in many cultures but have only recently gained interest in the West as a sustainable alternative to reduce the environmental impact of meat production. Despite the growing consumer interest in insect consumption, there is still a great disparity between curious trying and actual acceptance. The aim of this study was to examine how the product preparation, familiarity and individual traits (e.g. food neophobia) influence the consumer acceptance of insects as food. Dutch consumers (n = 976) evaluated 8 mealworm product images on 4 acceptability measures (product appropriateness, expected sensory-liking, willingness to buy, willingness to try). Product images varied according to mealworm visibility (visible/invisible), carrier flavour (savoury/sweet) and carrier origin (Western/Asian). High product acceptability was not simply achieved by adding mealworms to familiar foods. Acceptability depended very much on the perceived appropriateness of mealworms as food and the perceived appropriateness of the product combination. However, mealworm products were always expected to be inferior to the carrier products, even when visually identical. Familiarity with mealworms and individual traits played a relatively minor role, and influenced the willingness to try more than the other acceptability measures. We conclude that appropriate product design is important but insufficient to achieve consumer acceptance of insects as food in the West. Additional incentives are required to encourage acceptance beyond the mere willingness to try. We discuss the complexities underlying the consumer acceptance of insects as food and reflect on how acceptance might be increased in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world, people consume insects due to their nutritive value and low environmental production costs. However, Western societies rarely experience insects as a food source. To overcome initial resistance, researchers have suggested introducing insects into the market in a processed form so that those characteristics which are repellent to Western consumers are no longer readily visible. Thus far, the success of this strategy is untested. For the present experiment, we used two kinds of tortilla chips. One was made with a traditional corn flour recipe, while the other included cricket flour as an ingredient. People from the general population ( N = 104) were randomly assigned to consume either the traditional chips (control condition) or the cricket chips (experimental condition). After answering questions related to their eating behaviours, the participants tasted the chips. Both groups were informed prior to the tasting what kind of chips they would be sampling. After the tasting, the participants were questioned again to assess their willingness to eat unprocessed insects. Multiple linear regression showed that the experimental condition ( β = .16) had a significant effect on willingness to eat unprocessed insects, while simultaneously controlling for the impact of previous insect consumption ( β = .36), food neophobia ( β = −.33) and animal-based food contamination disgust ( β = −.17). People in the experimental condition reported a higher willingness to eat unprocessed insects than people in the control condition. The present experiment showed that exposure to processed insect products can increase consumers’ willingness to consume unprocessed insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culinary choices are a dynamic process that involves many considerations, including individual, contextual, cultural, and social factors. This study provides a better understanding of how culinary socialization along with food neophobia, culinary decisions and culinary habits, underlie culinary choices, measured by the concept of Distance to the Object (DO). This concept is useful in exploring the role of some psychosocial factors: knowledge (real and perceived), involvement (importance, personal identification, perceived ability), and level of practices (behaviors) associated with the social object under study, here, cooking. In this study, the DO concept measures the relationships of an individual with culinary choices. A sample of 420 participants was asked to answer an online questionnaire. The results showed that individuals close to cooking, (e.g., those who use more time-consuming cooking methods, eat more home-cooked meals) (a) had a specific background of culinary socialization (e.g., they started cooking at a younger age, read and used cookbooks), (b) were less food neophobic, (c) used different criteria for culinary choices (e.g., family tradition, originality, taste), and (d) had different culinary habits (e.g., shopping for meals). Their culinary choices took their values into account, regardless of the conditions required to achieve them (complicated dishes, time-consuming methods). The underlying logic in these choices came through in their everyday meals but also in the meals they cooked for guests. DO seems to be a good instrument for predicting food decisions in the area of culinary practices and cooking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food neophobia seems to be related to nutritional, emotional, and family problems during childhood and adolescence. However, a specific measure to assess food neophobia in this population group is lacking in Spain. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a culturally appropriate Spanish version of the self-report Food Situations Questionnaire (FSQ) published by Loewen and Pliner in 2000. Items were translated into Spanish by means of the forward–backward translation procedure, using age-appropriate and simple vocabulary. The Spanish Food Situations Questionnaire (SFSQ) was then administered to a community sample of 831 participants (368 males and 463 females) aged between 8 and 16. The internal structure (dimensionality), internal consistency, and temporal stability of the instrument were examined, as were its convergent and external validity. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed, as in the original FSQ, a two-factor structure (Low Stimulation and High Stimulation). These dimensions showed adequate internal consistency and temporal stability. The results also provide some evidence of convergent validity. External validation data were obtained based on the negative relationship between food neophobia and the sensation-seeking personality trait. Overall, the present work offers researchers and professionals interested in this area of study a valid and reliable tool for assessing food neophobia in Spanish-speaking children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unusual novel foods like insects are generally not considered to be appropriate as food in cultures where they are not commonly eaten, and are often rejected for reasons other than their intrinsic sensory properties. This study explores how the levels of sensory-liking and food appropriateness contribute to the willingness to eat unusual foods. Dutch beef consumers ( n = 103) evaluated four beef burger patties, of which one was labelled to contain only beef, and the other three labelled to contain beef and unusual novel ingredients (lamb brain, frog meat, mealworms). Four different recipes were randomly presented with each of the four labels, where novel ingredients were not actually present, and instead plant-based ingredients were used to create sensory differences between formulations. Before tasting, sensory-liking and food appropriateness of the novel burgers were lower than that of the beef burger. After tasting, the level of sensory-liking of the novel burgers increased to a similar level as that of the beef burger, whereas the level of food appropriateness of the novel burgers remained lower than that of the beef burger. Future willingness to eat remained lower than that of the beef burger. Willingness to eat again was predicted mainly by food appropriateness, and not by the experienced sensory-liking nor the individual traits (food neophobia, gender). We conclude that positive sensory experiences play a necessary role in the process of learning to accept a food, but are inadequate when unusual and culturally-inappropriate foods are involved. As curious tasting does not imply acceptance, we recommend that efforts to introduce unusual novel foods like insects not only focus on increasing trial probability, but also on understanding consumer expectations regarding their consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in adult picky eating (PE), i.e., the unwillingness to eat familiar foods or try novel foods, has grown rapidly in the last decade as a result of its negative health consequences. Fairly poor data are available on the prevalence of PE in Italy, mostly due to the lack of a psychometrically sound tool to measure this construct. Thus, this contribution aimed at translating and validating the 20-item Adult Picky Eating Questionnaire (APEQ) for use in the Italian context. The APEQ was translated into Italian (IT-APEQ) following a standard forward–backward procedure and administered online to a large cohort of Italian adults (N = 1030, 69.9% women, 18–75 yo), who also completed a series of psychometric and dietary measures to test both the convergent and discriminant validity of the IT-APEQ. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original four-factor structure of APEQ. The IT-APEQ showed invariance across genders, good internal consistency, and strong test–retest reliability (N = 599, 70.5% women, 18–75 yo). As expected, the IT-APEQ was positively associated with eating inflexibility, food neophobia, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and disgust propensity/sensitivity, whereas it was anticorrelated with indices of diet variety. Moreover, we documented for the first time a negative link between adult PE and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Our results suggest that the IT-APEQ demonstrates sound psychometric properties. Hence, we advocate its future usage to shed light into other correlates of PE in the Italian context and bolster cross-cultural research on adult PE, which is key to developing targeted strategies aimed at improving diet diversity and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An alternative Food Neophobia Scale (FNS-A) was developed and validated. • The FNS-A has four positive and four negative statements regarding new foods. • The FNS-A instrument can be experienced here bit.ly/FNS-A. An alternative Food Neophobia Scale (FNS-A) was developed in three studies to measure food neophobia (reluctance to eat and avoidance of trying new foods). In Study 1, the original food neophobia scale, FNS (Pliner, & Hobden, 1992), was first critically examined leading to modifications in five and omission of two statements. Furthermore, eight positive and eight negative statements were elicited and introduced along with eight original or modified FNS statements to 575 respondents in South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana. Study 2 (n = 1010) was used to confirm the factorial structure of the scale, and Study 3 (n = 141) was used to test the reliability of FNS-A through test–retest data. The structure of the scale was analyzed using exploratory (Study 1 and 2) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analysis, eventually leading to four positive and four negative statements regarding new foods, loaded on two factors labelled approach and avoidance. Test-retest reliability at a 2 weeks' time interval as well as convergent and divergent validity measured against other scales was good (Study 3). In all three studies, predictive validity was evaluated against willingness to try or expected liking ratings of unfamiliar or novel food names or food concept descriptions. This evaluation showed satisfactory performance. FNS-A is a promising tool for the quantification of individual responses to unfamiliar or novel foods, but further studies in other populations and contexts are needed to confirm the applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Investigated effects of packaging design for insect-based food in a lab experiment. • Realisitic (vs. cute vs. no) insect image increased disgust perception of product. • Packaging design affected assumptions about target groups. • Cute design might be advantageous to target more disgust-prone consumers. • No opportunities/availability were most frequently stated barriers to entomophagy. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated the powerful effects product packaging cues like graphics, colors, or claims can have on consumers' product expectations and sensory perception. However, the role of packaging in the context of insect consumption (entomophagy) has hardly received any scholarly attention. We address this issue by investigating how visual insect depictions on the packaging of edible insects affect the perception of disgust—a negative emotion motivating avoidance behavior—and willingness to try the product in a laboratory experiment (N = 72). Furthermore, we look at entomophagy from the perspective of young German adults. Based on theoretical and empirical considerations, we propose and demonstrate that insect-based food products are perceived as less disgusting when the packaging contains a cute or no (as compared to a realistic) insect image, and we also find that packaging design influences assumptions about target groups. We do not observe effects of packaging design on willingness to try the product. However, willingness to try was very high to begin with (83.3%), and of those who refused, most stated allergies or dietary constraints as causes. Contrary to previous research, we find that structural barriers (e.g., lack of opportunity or availability) are considered as more important reasons for not having consumed insects before than disgust. To our knowledge, our study is one of the first experimentally investigating the effects of (cute) packaging in the context of entomophagy. Our findings also offer interesting opportunities for further research and have direct implications for the marketing of edible insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on their high nutritional value and low production costs, insects are an excellent and sustainable source of animal protein. In contrast to countries such as China, in Western societies, the consumption of insects is not rooted in traditional diet. Data for the present study was collected from adults in Germany ( n = 502) and China ( n = 443). A cross-cultural comparison was conducted based on consumers’ willingness to eat different insect-based, processed (e.g., cookies based on cricket flour) and unprocessed (e.g., crickets) food. The influence of food neophobia on consumers’ willingness to eat insects was examined. The Chinese rated all insect-based food more favourably with regard to taste, nutritional value, familiarity and social acceptance compared with the Germans. Also, they indicated greater willingness to eat the tested food products, and no differences were observed between their ratings of processed and unprocessed food. The Germans reported higher willingness to eat the processed insect-based foods compared to the unprocessed foods. Further results revealed that low scores for food neophobia, positive taste expectations, high scores for social acceptance and experiences with eating insects in the past were significant predictors of consumers’ willingness to eat insects in both countries. Consequently, the introduction of insects as a food source in Western societies seems more likely to succeed if insects are incorporated into familiar food items, which will reduce neophobic reactions and negative attitudes towards insect-based foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the readiness of consumers in a Western society, where traditional meat consumption prevails, to adopt insects as a substitute for meat. Using cross-sectional data ( n = 368) and binary logistic regression modeling, the study identifies gender, age, familiarity, food neophobia, convenience and environmental food choice motives, as well as meat-related attitudes and future meat consumption intentions as significant predictors. The predicted likelihood of adopting insects as a substitute for meat is 12.8% [95% CI: 6.1–19.4%] for males and 6.3% [95% CI: 2.8–9.9%] for females, other predictor variables held constant at their mean value. People who claim to be familiar with the idea of eating insects have a 2.6 times higher likelihood, and consumers who intend to reduce fresh meat intake are up to 4.5 times more likely to adopt insects. Food neophobia makes the largest contribution to consumers’ readiness to adopt insects: a one-unit increase in the food neophobia score is associated with a 84% decrease in the predicted odds of being ready to adopt insects. A stronger convenience orientation in food choice and a higher interest in the environmental impact of food choice increase the likelihood of adopting insects by 75% and 71% per unit increase in these predictors’ scores, respectively. By contrast, a one-unit stronger belief that meat is nutritious and healthy, and a one-unit higher importance attached to taste for meat lower the predicted odds by 64% and 61%, respectively. This study reveals that the most likely early adopters of insects as a novel and more sustainable protein source in Western societies are younger males with a weak attachment to meat, who are more open to trying novel foods and interested in the environmental impact of their food choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food neophobia is considered a potential barrier for the introduction of new food products. This study investigated how advertising slogans could influence cognitive and affective responses to a new product in food neophobics and food neophilics. An unknown dairy product was used to examine the effectiveness of three different slogans that stressed (1) product newness, (2) product familiarity, and (3) both of these attributes simultaneously. The study used a 2 × 3 between-subjects experimental design ( N = 222). Food neophobics showed overall lower hedonic responses to the product than food neophilics. Slogan manipulation affected neophobics and neophilics differently. For neophobics, the slogan stressing familiarity of the product increased their perception of the product as “known”, but did not increase product attractiveness. For neophilics, the slogan conveying newness increased taste expectations and purchase intentions. The mixed slogan showed only partial effectiveness in increasing product attractiveness for neophilics. The results suggest that for the introduction of new food products it may be efficient to target neophilics and neophobics separately with different strategies. Concise slogans that convey only one message seem to work better than a paradoxical combination of statements in a combined slogan. Slogans aimed at food neophilics need to stress the newness of a product. However, slogans alone seem to be inefficient for neophobics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cooking ability and food neophobia may be negatively correlated. • Cooking ability only weakly influenced the hedonic scores. • Cooking ability did not consistently influence consumers' ability to discriminate between Bolognese samples through sensory perception using CATA. • Bolognese prepared with meat (beef) was not liked more than that prepared with some meat substitutes. • Meat based Bolognese cannot be assumed to be liked more than with meat substitutes. Encouraging consumers to reduce their meat consumption is imperative in mitigating climate change effects related to the food industry. For some, transitioning away from meat may be facilitated by meat substitutes. However, these are not always accepted as suitable alternatives to meat due to a combination of psychological, situational, and sensorial aspects. The influence of factors such as cooking ability on hedonics and sensory discrimination of meat and meat substitutes is currently under-researched. The present study investigated such effects. Consumers (N = 101) of varying cooking ability and food neophobia (measured using questionnaires) tasted and evaluated six mince products (one beef and five meat substitutes – three soybean-based, one mycoprotein-based, and one oat-based) prepared in a Bolognese sauce. They rated liking for overall, appearance, aroma, taste/flavour, and texture, and profiled the products sensorially using check-all-that-apply (CATA). It was found that meat substitutes can be liked just as much as, if not more than, beef in the application of Bolognese sauce. No main effects of cooking ability were found for any modality of liking, though an interaction between cooking ability and sample was found for liking of flavour/taste. Consumers' ability to sensorially discriminate between the Bolognese sauces was not dependent on their cooking ability. Several attributes that contributed to (dis)liking were identified. An additional online sample (N = 288) completed only the cooking ability and food neophobia questionnaires. A negative relationship was detected between cooking ability and food neophobia for the combined consumer and online datasets (total N = 389). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A comparison focus intervention was applied on perception of ethnic food. • Identifying similarities with familiar foods changed the perception of ethnic food. • Both familiarity and perceived closeness with local food increased. • The effect did not show significant on intention to try the ethnic food. People are often reluctant when it comes to approaching novel food. This behavioural tendency falls under the label of food neophobia. Prior research based on mere exposure indicated that novel foods are more likely approached when perceived as more familiar. The present paper proposes a strategy to increase the perceived familiarity of ethnic food that is not based on direct exposure, but instead, on comparative thinking. Across three pre-registered studies (n = 649), the impact of a comparison focus manipulation on familiarity, perceived closeness, and intention to try ethnic foods was tested. Participants were presented with ethnic recipes and asked to highlight the ingredients that made the recipe alike vs. different from known food. Study 1 revealed that focusing on similarities increased the perceived familiarity of an ethnic food relative to a no-comparison condition, but not to a difference condition. As the latter non-significant comparison was likely due to the specific features of the ethnic food considered, in Studies 2 and 3 a mixed design was adopted. Each participant was asked to process two different ethnic recipes, one assigned to a no-comparison focus task and the other to a comparison focus (similarity vs. difference) task. Results demonstrated that the food assigned to the comparison task increased in familiarity and perceived closeness, whereas the effect did not emerge on behavioural intentions. Crucially, this was true only when the comparison focus was on the similarities with Italian recipes. These findings provide useful insights for future research within the context of food-behaviour change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Use of the valence × arousal circumplex-inspired emotion questionnaire (CEQ) • 6 studies (3657 consumers) with 69 food and beverage stimuli (tasted and written) • Food neophobia was associated with negative emotional valence and higher arousal. • Food neophobia was negatively associated with food liking, confirming previous studies. • Private body consciousness (PBC) was positively associated with higher arousal. In this study the valence × arousal circumplex-inspired emotion questionnaire (CEQ) was used to assess the valence and arousal components of emotions evoked in response to both tasted and written food and beverages. A total of 6 studies were conducted in the USA and New Zealand with a total of 3657 consumers and 69 stimuli in both central location tests (CLT) and on-line studies. Individuals participating in the studies completed questionnaires to assess the personality traits of food neophobia (FN) and private body consciousness (PBC). Results of these studies showed FN to be associated with negative emotional valence and higher emotional arousal. Confirming previous studies, FN was found to be negatively associated with food liking ratings. PBC was found to be associated with higher emotional arousal. Considering the strong associations between FN, PBC and the two dimensions of core affect, i.e., valence and arousal, the present research confirms the need in future research to employ measures of food emotions that are sensitive to differences in these well established and critical dimensions. As shown in this research, the CEQ is both an efficient and comprehensive method to acquire such data, as well as one that is sensitive to individual differences among respondents in such personality traits as food neophobia and private body consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An intervention programme was designed to teach children healthy diet and habits. • A new web app called "¿Cómo como yo?" (How do I eat?) was used. • Food neophobia score and healthy habits were compared among two European countries. • The intervention reduced food neophobia and improved children healthy food habits. • The success of the intervention was related to childreńs food neophobia score. Healthy eating patterns in childhood promote optimal childhood health, growth and intellectual development. In this context, effective educational programmes to promote healthy eating habits during childhood are needed specially in countries where childreńs overweight and obesity are becoming a serious problem. The main aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of a full healthy eating intervention programme focused on the improvement of healthy habits of children from two European countries (Poland and Spain). For achieving this objective, a new web app named "¿Cómo como yo?" (How do I eat?) especially designed for school-aged children was used for collecting the data and for making recommendations of healthy eating habits after the questionnaires were completed. Although 407 Polish and Spanish primary school pupils completed the intervention, after data curation, 339 of them were included in the study. Our results showed that the educational intervention was useful to decrease food neophobia in children and to increase some healthy habits. The success of the healthy eating intervention programme was related to childreńs food neophobia score. The results allowed us to describe country-related differences in food neophobia, food acceptability, food habits and healthy knowledge. Finally, the healthy eating intervention programme has proved that a change in children eating behaviour is possible. In fact, our findings have implications for formulating several recommendations for educational programmes in different EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Food neophobia is common in Chinese toddlers aged 12- to 36- months. • Food neophobic toddlers consumed vegetables and fruits less frequently but with a higher intake of snacks and sugary sweetened beverages. • Toddlers usually refuse vegetables and animal foods due to odor, taste and texture of food, as well as difficulty to chew, probably. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of major food intake in toddlers with different severities of food neophobia and explore associations between food neophobia and the consumption of vegetables, fruit, snacks, and sugary sweetened beverages (SSBs) This cross-sectional study included 747 toddler-caregiver dyads. Caregivers completed the questionnaire, which include the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS), food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and questions regarding their toddlers' food refusals and reasons for refusal. The mean CFNS score of the toddlers was 21.49 ± 8.10, and the proportion of children with a high level of food neophobia was 27.4% in the overall sample. Children with high-level food neophobia consumed vegetables and fruits less frequently and thus had lower dietary diversity scores, while having a higher intake of snacks and SSBs. Leafy and flowering vegetables, meat and poultry, and cucurbitaceous vegetables were the top three rejected foods among high food neophobia toddlers. Such refusals might be due to the odor and taste, difficulty to chew, and texture of these foods. Early intervention is needed to address the high prevalence of food neophobia and thus improve Chinese children's dietary quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Men and women differ in the heritability of childhood meat consumption (h2 = 0.31 versus 0.11, respectively). • Men and women differ in the heritability of current meat preferences (h2 = 0.26 versus 0.51, respectively). • Different genes underlie meat preferences in men and women. • Vegetarianism/veganism is 76% heritable. People vary in the degree to which they enjoy eating meats versus plants. This paper examines the genetic and environmental roots of this variation, as well as the genetic and environmental roots of meat neophobia, plant neophobia, and vegetarianism/veganism. Using data from 9319 adult Finnish twins and siblings of twins (551 MZ, 861 DZ complete; 783 MZ, 2692 DZ incomplete twin pairs), we examine the degree to which recalled childhood exposure to meats and plants relates to adult preferences for the same meats and plants. We also investigate sex differences in the heritability of 1) meat and plant preferences, 2) childhood meat and plant consumption, 3) meat and plant neophobia, and the heritability of 4) vegetarianism/veganism. For both men and women, recalled childhood meat consumption correlated more strongly with current meat preferences than current plant preferences, and recalled childhood plant consumption correlated more strongly with current plant preferences than current meat preferences. We detected sex differences in the heritability of childhood meat consumption (h2 men = 0.31, h2 women = 0.11) and current meat preferences (h2 men = 0.26, h2 women = 0.51), but not childhood plant consumption (h2 men = 0.41, h2 women = 0.17), current plant preferences (h2 men = 0.45, h2 women = 0.53), meat neophobia (h2 men = 0.48, h2 women = 0.55) or plant neophobia (h2 men = 0.56, h2 women = 0.54). Further, different genes undergirded men's and women's meat preferences. Abstention from meat (i.e., vegetarianism/veganism) was 76% heritable. These results have implications for hypotheses of the developmental origins of dietary patterns and hypotheses for sex differences in meat consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Food neophobia influences people’s daily eating behavior. [•] The product origin seems to be important to people with higher food neophobia. [•] Older males from rural areas with a lower income have higher neophobia scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A total of 46 articles of medium-high to high quality were included. • Food fussiness was associated with a number of diverse biological characteristics. • A range of measures was used for food fussiness assessment. • Covariates or mediators were rarely examined. • Mechanisms or pathways linking biological characteristics and fussiness are underexplored. Children's biological characteristics are a crucial element in understanding the mechanisms and pathways of their eating behaviors and development. However, the role of biological characteristics in food fussiness has not been systematically examined. The aim of this review was to search, collate and summarize the evidence on associations between food fussiness and biological characteristics in children's fussy eating behaviors. A systematic review was performed with two main search concepts, food fussiness and biological characteristics in children, with 46 articles included. Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used for quality assessment with the included articles ranging from medium-high to high quality. Food fussiness was associated with diverse biological characteristics including age, sex, temperament, heritability, birth weight, sensory sensitivity, eating rate, leptin level and chemosensory receptor genes. While the strength and direction of associations varied across studies, the most consistent evidence was for negative associations between fussiness and birth weight, eating rate, leptin level and inhibitory control and positive associations with sensory acuity, emotionality, negative affect and shyness. This review has highlighted that many biological characteristics are related to food fussiness, yet there is inadequate attention directed to understanding mechanisms and pathways linking the biological characteristics with food fussiness as well as advancing conceptualization and measurement of fussiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proportions of children who met the DRIs were similar despite food neophobia status. • Food neophobia was negatively associated with protein, iron, and cholesterol intake. • Food neophobia was associated with lower intake of several micronutrients. Food neophobia is a widely prevalent eating behavior among children, which has been linked to poor dietary variety and quality. Nevertheless, data pertaining nutrient intakes in relation to food neophobia among children in Middle East countries are lacking. The present study aimed to examine the associations between food neophobia and nutrient intakes in children aged 6–12 years. A cross-sectional study of 424 children was conducted. Food neophobia among children was evaluated using the Food Neophobia Scale. Dietary data of children were collected using 24-hour dietary recalls, and nutrient densities were calculated. Intakes of macro- and micronutrients were compared to dietary recommendations. Proportions of children who met the dietary recommendations for all nutrients were similar across food neophobia groups. No significant difference in macro- or micronutrient intake was observed across categories of food neophobia in univariate analyses; however, in multiple regression models, higher food neophobia score was associated with lower protein intake (β = -0.04% of total energy, 95% CI −0.07 to −0.01), cholesterol (β = -1.79 mg/1000 kcals, 95% CI −3.51 to −0.06), potassium (β = -11.02 mg/1000 kcals, 95% CI −20.5 to −1.54), phosphorus (β = -5.30 mg/1000 kcals, 95% CI −9.74 to −0.86), magnesium (β = -1.20 mg/1000 kcals, 95% CI −2.15 to −0.25), iron (β = -0.07 mg/1000 kcals, 95% CI −0.14 to −0.01), zinc (β = -0.04 mg/1000 kcals, 95% CI −0.07 to −0.001), and selenium intake (β = -0.48 ug/1000 kcals, 95% CI −0.93 to −0.04). Our findings suggest negative associations between food neophobia in children and intake of a number of important nutrients. Further investigations are needed to identify potential factors that could influence food and nutrient intake among food neophobic children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Russian-speaking communities constituted the most recent flux of migration to Italy: as a consequence, their foods are still little known. This work was aimed at exploring the attitudes of Italians towards eastern European foods. A structured questionnaire was submitted to a sample Italian population in order to analyze food neophobia, awareness/information about traditional markets of the eastern migrant communities, and the specific interest in 10 selected traditional foods. Food neophobia was higher among the elderly and among the less educated people. The awareness of eastern foods was higher among the elderly, whereas willingness to try was higher among the younger people. Education did not affect awareness, but increased willingness to try. The interest in specific foods was generally lower in the less educated people, the elderly and the neophobics, with differences depending on the nature of foods. This research indicates some potential for the development of new products, that could arise from an enhanced exchange of knowledge between Italians and Ukrainians and other Russian-speaking communities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Non-traditional ethnic foods are a new category of foods that have not been experienced by consumers. The objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes of consumers toward the familiarity and willingness to try non-traditional foods by food neophobia level, as well as to determine the relationship between non-traditional ethnic food experiences and food neophobia in Korea. Food neophobia was measured by the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). The mean FNS score among Koreans was 33.5 (SD=9.0). The high food neophobia group was less likely to have experiences with non-traditional foods in comparison to the low food neophobia group. Food neophobia significantly predicted the familiarity and willingness to try various non-traditional ethnic foods. Among the 12 non-traditional ethnic foods, the participants had the least familiarity and willingness to try African and Mongolian foods. In terms of the level of willingness, Vietnamese, Indian, Thai, Mexican, Turkish, Greek, Mongolian, African, Japanese and Italian foods showed significant differences among the food neophobia groups but Chinese and American foods did not. This study was a first and meaningful attempt to validate FNS in Asia for the delineation of consumer responses of various non-traditional food products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]