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Food neophobia is defined as the unwillingness to taste new foods and the avoidance of unfamiliar foods. This eating behaviour is a complex issue, and both genetic and environmental factors play a role in it. The aim of this review is to understand its relationships with dietary behaviours throughout the lifespan and to examine the impact of interventions on food neophobia. A literature search was performed using the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and ScienceDirect databases. As a result of the screening, a total of 139 studies, seven of which were intervention studies, were included in this review. According to current evidence, food neophobia is negatively associated with the acceptance of not only novel/unfamiliar foods but also familiar foods. Many studies have shown that food neophobia is negatively associated with the hedonics and consumption of core foods, especially vegetables and fruits. Individuals with higher levels of food neophobia are less familiar with many foods, but familiarity is a prominent motivator in food choices for these individuals. Therefore, it may be considered a barrier limiting diet quality and this trend is similar for both children and adults. However, food neophobia is not an unchangeable personality trait. Intervention studies have pointed out that educational programmes and food-related activities that increase familiarity and exposure to foods and create positive attitudes towards and positive experiences with foods can reduce food neophobia. The results highlight that people with high food neophobia need more support to improve their diets and the quality of dietary behaviour.

PurposeThis paper aims to extend the current knowledge about how food neophobia and food technology neophobia can influence whether consumers choose fish farmed with insect-based flours (FFIF).Design/methodology/approachThe authors used an online survey questionnaire and a sample of 567 young Italian adults. The answers were analysed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and structural equation modelling.FindingsBoth methodologies highlighted the relevance of food technology neophobia in influencing consumers' attitudes and intentions, even when foodstuffs were not produced through technology-intensive processes.Research limitations/implicationsDespite being focussed on a sample containing people of similar ages and food cultures, this study offers evidence that it is not necessarily the technological level of a food production process that sparks feelings of technology-related neophobia. Thus, this study highlights the importance of consumers' perceptions of foodstuff choices.Practical implicationsThe findings provide valuable insights into how informative campaigns should address the problem of increasing the acceptance of novel foods, such as FFIF.Originality/valueThe present study provides empirical evidence that food technology neophobia can influence whether consumers choose FFIF. Furthermore, using a mixed-method approach is novel in the field of new foods.

PurposeThe authors examined the impact of environmental concerns, knowledge of organic/novel food, food neophobia, food neophilia, health consciousness and social norms on satisfaction toward organic food leading to the intention to purchase organic food (IPOF). Moreover, perceived barriers are used as a moderator between satisfaction toward organic food and IPOF.Design/methodology/approachPLS-SEM followed and multiple regression analysis followed for hypotheses testing. Convenience sampling is used and 497 questionnaires were used for the final analysis.FindingsEnvironmental concerns, knowledge of organic food, food neophilia, health consciousness, and social norms are positively related to satisfaction toward organic food leading to the IPOF. Food neophobia decreases satisfaction toward organic food. Moreover, perceived barriers are significantly moderate between satisfaction toward organic food and IPOF.Practical implicationsOrganic food organizations can use the findings to increase their IPOF. Moreover, academicians and practitioners can get an advantage from study outcomes.Originality/valueThis is a pioneer study that incorporates environmental concerns, knowledge of organic food, food neophobia, food neophilia, health consciousness, social norms, satisfaction toward organic food and perceived barriers to examine IPOF in light of the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

Purpose Even though insect products increasingly receive attention as a sustainable food alternative to meat, consumer acceptance remains low. The purpose of this paper is to test consumer acceptance of two different insect species with varying degrees of processing which led to different degrees of insects’ visibility. Design/methodology/approach Insect dishes that varied according to species and degree of visibility were presented to participants of a self-administered personal survey within a meal context. Consumer acceptance was measured through the willingness-to-try the different dishes, and a hierarchical linear regression was applied to estimate the role of insect species. Findings Consumer acceptance can be improved by focusing on different forms of food processing and different insect species. The lower the visibility of insects, the higher the consumer acceptance, independent of insect species. However, this is not sufficient to overcome consumers’ widely held rejection. Main barriers for consumer acceptance seem to be low social and cultural acceptance, fear of trying unknown products and a lack of taste experience. Originality/value A huge body of literature has examined determinants of insect consumption, but the majority of these studies did not consider the effects of insect species. The study’s main objective is to close this research gap while checking the most relevant individual traits as identified through a literature review: food neophobia and familiarity, social and cultural norms, awareness of benefits of insect production, meat consumption and socio-demographics.

This study examines the willingness to consume a cultured meat burger in Germany. Based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), we assessed attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and subjective norms via an online questionnaire. Attitudes were operationalized in this research as general attitudes towards cultured meat and specific attitudes towards a cultured meat burger. Furthermore, the TPB was extended with nutritional-psychological variables including food (technology) neophobia, food disgust, sensation seeking, and green consumption values. In total, 58.4% of the participants reported being willing to consume a cultured meat burger. Using a path model, the extended TPB accounted for 77.8% of the variance in willingness to consume a cultured meat burger. All components of the TPB were significant predictors except general attitudes. The influence of general attitudes was completely mediated by specific attitudes. All nutritional-psychological variables influenced general attitudes. Food technology neophobia was the strongest negative, and green consumption values were the strongest positive predictor of general attitudes. Marketing strategies should therefore target the attitudes of consumers by encouraging the natural perception of cultured meat, using a less technological product name, enabling transparency about the production, and creating a dialogue about both the fears and the environmental benefits of the new technology.

Insects have long been consumed as part of the diets of many Asian, African, and South American cultures. However, despite international agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations advocating the nutritional, environmental, and economic benefits of entomophagy, attitudinal barriers persist in Western societies. In Australia, the indigenous ‘bush tucker’ diet comprising witchetty grubs, honey ants, and Bogong moths is quite well known; however, in most Australian locales, the consumption of insects tends to occur only as a novelty. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the awareness and acceptance of insects as food. An online survey of 820 consumers found that 68% of participants had heard of entomophagy, but only 21% had previously eaten insects; witchetty grubs, ants, grasshoppers, and crickets were the most commonly tasted insects. Taste, appearance, safety, and quality were identified as the factors that were most likely to influence consumer willingness to try eating insects, but consumer attitudes towards entomophagy were underpinned by both food neophobia (i.e., reluctance to eat new or novel foods) and prior consumption of insects. Neophobic consumers were far less accepting of entomophagy than neophilic consumers, while consumers who had previously eaten insects were most accepting of insects as food. Incorporating insects into familiar products (e.g., biscuits) or cooked meals also improved their appeal. Collectively, these findings can be used by the food industry to devise production and/or marketing strategies that overcome barriers to insect consumption in Australia.

Food innovation is crucial for food companies in order to produce healthier, safer, and more convenient foods. However, there is a segment of consumers reluctant to accept new foods. This attitude is even more important when those novelties are developed in products such as wine that have habitually relied on heritage and traditional production as their main competitive advantage. In this study, consumer attitudes toward innovation in the wine industry were evaluated by simultaneously considering product neophobia and process neophobia. Based upon a sample of 400 personal interviews with Spanish wine consumers, the results showed that these two aspects of neophobia were uncorrelated, meaning they are useful to measure different aspects of general food neophobia. Cluster analysis showed that four different segments of consumers exist, with different attitudes toward technological innovation in the wine industry. The consumer segment that shows the most positive attitudes toward wine innovation (product and process innovation) is that with the highest income and highest level of education. Moreover, greater involvement with the product (wine) results in lower product neophobia. Therefore, future studies should consider product involvement and exposure to cultural diversity as essential factors when evaluating food neophobia.

One of the main priorities of current food systems is to develop new and healthy foods to overcome food shortages considering consumer’s expectations. Algae are receiving increasing attention as nutritious and sustainable food, though studies are limited mainly to Arthrospira and Chlorella species and cross-national research is scant. This study aims to investigate European consumers’ liking and perception of crackers added with powders from Arthrospira platensis (green Spirulina), isolated proteins from Arthrospira platensis (blue Spirulina), Palmaria palmata, Saccharina latissima, Lithothamnium calcareum and a control cracker. Belgian, German, Italian, and Swedish participants (n = 413, 18–69 years, 59.8% females) evaluated cracker liking and perceived sensory attributes using the check-all-that-apply (CATA) task. Food neophobia, familiarity towards, and consumption of algae were also collected. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) analyses showed that across all countries, Lithothamnium calcareum, blue Spirulina and the control samples were perceived as similar and were liked more than the other crackers. “Sweet”, “toasted bread”, and “bland” attributes were significant contributors to liking, while “off-flavor”, “fishy flavor”, “umami” and “speckled” contributed negatively. PLSR performed by country provided similar results except for Italians who liked the green Spirulina sample equally as the samples added with Lithothamnium calcareum, blue Spirulina, and the control. These cross-national differences can be ascribed to Italians’ lower food neophobia level. The present results suggest that Lithothamnium calcareum is the most promising algal species to be exploited in food formulations and that the use of isolated proteins from Spirulina (blue Spirulina) significantly reduces off-flavors, consequently improving consumers’ acceptance.

•Food neophobia exerts a negative influence on dietary habits and preferences.•We explored whether food neophobia and olfaction were related in adolescents.•Food neophobia was correlated with all included measures of olfactory perception.•Self-assessed sensitivity and odor awareness particularly contributed to food neophobia. Food neophobia is a rejection or avoidance of novel food products. Despite the adaptive importance of this behavior, it exerts a negative influence on dietary habits and preferences. Sensory sensitivity relates to food neophobia and among specific sensory modalities, olfaction seems to be an obvious candidate for a correlate of this behavior as odor perception largely affects food intake and enjoyment. However, research on olfactory perception and food neophobia is scarce, and despite some promising results, the full picture of their association still awaits discovery. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between food neophobia and olfaction in adolescents, a group that has not been included in the previous studies investigating this association. We tested the olfactory perception–food neophobia relationship in 510 adolescents 15 to 17 y of age using a food neophobia questionnaire, a psychophysical odor identification test, a self-assessment of odor sensitivity, an odor significance questionnaire, and through odor pleasantness assessments. We observed significant correlations between food neophobia and all included measures of olfactory perception. The overall regression model suggested that self-assessed sensitivity and odor awareness were the most influential, olfaction-related predictors of food neophobia in adolescents.