The effect of 'Organic' and 'Gluten-free' labels on sensory evaluations of food
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- Title
- The effect of 'Organic' and 'Gluten-free' labels on sensory evaluations of food
- Creator
- Sugania N. Suriapragasam
- Supervisor
- Dr G. Neil Martin.
- Date
- 2015
- Abstract
- Background Information: Previous research into the effect of labelling food has focused on organic labels and ecofriendly labels. They indicate that there is a health halo effect attached to labels. Today, there is a trend towards gluten-free (GF) foods. It has been shown that GF foods are not nutritionally advantageous compared to regular products of the same type. Aim: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that foods labelled GF and organic will be perceived as healthier and participants will be willing to pay more for those labels compared to the supermarket own brand (SMOB) label. The SMOB label will be rated more positively in terms of its sensory perception compared to the organic and GF labels. Method: 56 staff members and students at a Central London University (Male = 20, Female = 36) whose age ranged between 17 and 61 (Mean = 28.77, S.D. = 11.13) were asked to complete a series of questionnaires that assessed their demographic, lifestyle, purchasing habits and food choice. They were asked to taste some chocolate cake and crackers that were labelled organic, GF and SMOB, after trying each food item they were required to answer a taste and nutritional attributed questionnaire. Results: A significant main effect of label was found in the cake condition (p < 0.001) where the organic cake was more appetising, pleasant, good, and expensive compared to the other labels. The SMOB cake was higher in fat, higher in calories, sweeter and more artificial than the other labels. The GF cake was rated as healthier than the other labels. No significant main effects were found with the crackers. Conclusion: The results suggest that the GF label generates a health-halo effect despite evidence showing that it is nutritionally equivalent or healthier than its regular counterpart. The organic labelled cake was rated better in taste than and more expensive, suggesting that price evaluations affected the taste ratings.
- Subject
- Natural foods--Labeling|Natural foods--Social aspects||
- Psychology
- Extent
- 102 pages ; 31 cm
- Format
- Publisher
- Regent's University London
- degree
- MSc Psychology
- Language
- English
- Date Issued
- 2015
- Type
- Thesis & Dissertation
- Rights Holder
- Regent's University London & Sugania N. Suriapragasam
- Item sets
- Theses or Dissertation