Ebook: Acceptance and Purchase Intention of Irradiated Foods in Brazil: Effect of Positive Information

Food irradiation remains underutilized in Brazil, despite the approval and regulation of
the official health authority since 1973. However, consumers risk perception, mostly
due to lack of information about the technology, seem to be the main barrier to the
adoption of food irradiation by the Brazilian industries, like in other countries. The aim
of this study was to investigate the effect of information on the acceptance and purchase
intention of minimally processed and irradiated organic watercress (Nasturtium
officinale). Consumers (N=236) participating in the sensory acceptance test were
divided into four experimental groups according to an experimental design which
combined presence or absence of information about the food irradiation process – main
characteristics, benefits to food safety and preservation, cost-benefit and environmental
issues - and identification or not of the irradiated product in a sensory acceptance test.
Results did not show significant effect (p>0.05) of information either on acceptability or
in purchase intention of the irradiated product compared to the non irradiated
counterpart, although an exploratory statistical analysis revealed underlying patterns
suggesting that consumers segmentation must exist as well as favorable and unfavorable
attitude to food irradiation.
Keywords: consumer behavior, sensory evaluation, purchase intention, watercress, food
processing, gamma radiation.