How do the interview environment, sociodemographic aspects and risk perception impact attitudes related to food? A survey in the Midwest of Brazil

REMBISCHEVSKI, Peter; CALDAS, Eloisa Dutra

doi:10.1590/fst.78622

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Food Science and Technology

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Original Article • Food Sci. Technol 43 • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.78622 copy

How do the interview environment, sociodemographic aspects and risk perception impact attitudes related to food? A survey in the Midwest of Brazil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the food-related attitudes through the application of a structured questionnaire to 1,000 individuals applied in three environments (groups) in the Federal District of Brazil (supermarkets, universities and hospitals/clinics) using multivariate logistic regression, with special focus on pesticides and genetically modified (GM) food. Outpatients in hospital/clinic, women and older individuals were significantly more likely to adopt diets or attitudes considered or perceived as healthy (including high consumption of fruits and vegetables, acquiring organic food, and adopting procedures to remove pesticide residues from food). When income and/or education impacted the results, the correlation was negative. Over 60% of the population believe it is possible to produce food without using pesticides, mainly the hospital/clinic group, younger individuals, and women, and 95.3% think that the presence of pesticides in food should be indicated on the labels, mainly the hospital/clinic group and older individuals. High worry about pesticides and GM food was associated with most healthy food-related attitudes. The results of this study are important for food-related communication strategies conducted by health authorities, aiming at driving specific population segments to a healthier and more conscious diet.

Keywords:
food consumption; consumer attitudes; pesticides; genetically modified food

Variable		Fruits & vegetables	Canned/industrialized
		High (ref. low)	High (ref. low)
Group (ref. university)	Hospital/clinic	4.96 [2.34-10.53], 0.000	0.442 [0.204-0.958], 0.038
	Supermarket	2.33 [1.30-4.18], 0.005	ns
Age, years (ref. up to 24)	50 or over	2.74 [1.26-6.00], 0.011	0.202 [0.0877-0.465], 0.000
	25 to 49	ns	0.519 [0.296-0.909], 0.022
Gender (ref. men)	Woman	1.76 [1.18-2.63], 0.006	ns
Income (ref. > 5 MW)	Up to 5	0.553 [0.360-0.848], 0.007	ns
		High (ref. medium)	Medium (ref. low)
Age, years (ref. up to 24)	50 or over	3.02 [1.76-5.18], 0.000	0.260 [0.137-0.494], 0.000
Gender (ref. men)	Woman	2.30 [1.69-3.13], 0.000	ns
Income (ref. > 5 MW)	Up to 5	0.482 [0.342-0.680], 0.000	ns

Variable		Tasty	Healthy	Low cost
Group (ref. University)	Hospital/clinic	0.482 [0.281-0.828], 0.008	ns	0.602 [0.388-0.935], 0.024
	Supermarket	ns	1.51 [1.01-2.26], 0.048	ns
Age. years (ref. up to 24)	50 or over	0.317 [0.190-0.530], 0.000	1.89 [1.21-2.95], 0.005	ns
	25 to 49	0.576 [0.366-0.907], 0.017	ns	ns
Gender (ref. men)	Woman	ns	1.33 [1.02-1.73], 0.032	ns
Income (ref. > 5MW)	Up to 5	0.695 [0.495 - 0.975], 0.035	ns	ns

Variable		Acquire organic food (yes)^a	Possible to produce without pesticides (all/some food) ^b	Inform the presence of pesticide in the label (all pesticides)	Procedures to remove/reduce pesticides (yes)^e
Group (ref. University)	Hospital/ clinic Supermarket	2.11 [1.29-3.46], 0.03	ns	4.85 [1.18-19.91], 0.028^c	ns
Group (ref. University)	Hospital/ clinic Supermarket	1.79 [1.17-2.74], 0.008	ns	ns	ns
Age. years (ref. up to 24)	50 or over	ns	0.526 [0.306-0.905], 0.020	1.70 [1.07-2.68], 0.024^d	2.62 [1.51-455], 0.001
Age. years (ref. up to 24)	25 to 49	ns	ns	ns	ns
Gender (ref. men)	Woman	ns	1.63 [1.06-2.51], 0.025	ns	2.26 [1.68-3.05], 0.000
Income (ref. > 5MW)	Up to 5	0.596 [0.445-0.797], 0.000	ns	ns	ns

Variable		Recognize the T symbol on the label^a (yes)^b	Consume food with the T symbol^a (yes/sometimes)^c
Group (ref. university)	Hospital/clinic	0.522 [0.316-0.862], 0.011	ns
Age, years (ref. up to 24)	50 or over	ns	6.40 [2.96-1383], 0.000
Age, years (ref. up to 24)	25 to 49	ns	2.03 [1.14-3.62], 0.017
Gender (ref. men)	Woman	ns	1.54 [1.04-2.30], 0.033
Education (ref. college or higher)	Up to high school	0.389 [0.262-0.577], 0.000	ns

	Acquisition of organic food (always/almost always)	Procedures to decrease pesticides in food (always/ frequently)	Worry related to chemicals in food (high)	Worry about pesticides in food (high)	Worry about OGM in food (high)
F&V consumption (high)	2.63 [1.80-3.85], 0.000	2.38 [1.59-3.57], 0.000	6.98 [3.99-12.21], 0.000	ns	ns
Acquisition of organic food (always/almost always)	x	2.32 [1.72-3.12], 0.000	3.70 [2.49-5.51], 0.000	3.06 [1.85-5.08], 0.000	1.97 [1.35-2.89], 0.000
Procedures to decrease pesticides in food (always/ frequently)	x	x	4.99 [3.27-7.63], 0.000	4,86 [2.90-8.12], 0.000	2.51 [1.68-3.78], 0.000
Worry related to the presence of chemicals in food (high)	x	x	x	19.4 [9.00-41.8], 0.000	16.7 [8.46-32.8], 0.000
Whether food can be deleterious to health (frequently)	ns	ns	5.27 [2.72-10.2], 0.000	4.97 [2.22-11.1], 0.000	2.06 [1.03-4.14], 0.042
Produce food without pesticides (all/some)	2.14 [1.38-3.30], 0.000	ns	2.24 [1.26-3.96], 0.006	4.11 [2.20-7.66], 0.000	2.65 [1.48-4.76], 0.001
Indicate the presence of pesticides in food label (all pesticides/whether it contains or not)	3.58 [1.76-7.31], 0.000	6.26 [2.99-13.1], 0.000	9.43 [3.66-24.3], 0.000	16.4 [6.60-40.6], 0.000	11.6 [2.64-51.0], 0.001

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[1] *Corresponding author: eloisa@unb.br