The research discovered that when requested how processed they thought a given meals was, individuals perceived this meals heuristically at the same stage of processing because it had been formally rated by the NOVA classification, and even the same stage of well being because it had been rated by Nutri-Rating.
Shopper perceptions and the NOVA classification
NOVA is a classification system, designed by researcher Carlos Augusto Monteiroto, to designate meals, within the worlds of the current research, ‘in keeping with the diploma and goal of processing.’
Via NOVA, meals may be categorised in one in all 4 methods: a rating of 1 is unprocessed or minimally processed, 2 is processed culinary components, 3 is processed meals and 4 is ultra-processed meals, or UPF.
The research, which was printed within the journal Meals High quality and Choice, aimed to evaluate the hyperlinks between client perceptions of well being and their notion of processing, and the way these aligned with official well being classifications (Nutri-Rating) and, extra importantly, processing classifications (the NOVA system).
Carried out through a web based survey, the research requested 498 members ‘When fascinated about meals merchandise produced by the meals business, what are the primary associations (phrases, footage, and ideas) that come spontaneously to your thoughts?’ in a free affiliation job.
For this job, individuals clearly had a destructive notion of processed meals. The commonest associations to processed meals had been ‘comfort meals’ (18.7%), ‘unhealthy’ (16.5%), and ‘components’ (10.4%), in contrast with the far much less frequent ‘unspecific constructive evaluations’ (3.0%) or ‘wholesome’ (0.4%).
They had been then requested how constructive or destructive their emotions had been about ‘meals processed by the meals business’ on an 11-point Likert scale of 5 to -5.
Lastly, they got pictures of 27 meals merchandise and had been requested how wholesome and processed they thought of them, on a sliding scale of 1-100. Model names had been eliminated.
These perceptions of healthiness and processing stage had been in contrast with the product scores for well being with Nutri-Rating and for processing with the NOVA system.
Notably, meals with a NOVA classification of 1 had been probably the most steadily perceived as wholesome, with meals that had a NOVA classification of 4 most perceived as unhealthy.
Additionally notable was that client perceptions of healthiness typically aligned with the product’s Nutri-Rating score, and their perceptions of ranges of processing typically aligned with its NOVA rating. Shopper instincts on these items had been, subsequently, usually proper.
“The NOVA system completely mirrors lay individuals’s notion of meals processing,” mentioned Michael Siegrist, one of many authors of the paper.
Issues with NOVA
NOVA will not be with out its critics. Amongst these critics is Siegrist.
“The Nova system claims to deal with processing,” he advised FoodNavigator, “however it doesn’t deal with processing in any respect, solely on components.
“The system guarantees one thing that it fails to ship. The NOVA system will not be a scientifically based mostly classification system.
“A significant weak point of the NOVA classification is the dearth of readability as to which class meals belong to. Due to this fact, many merchandise haven’t been labeled uniformly in previous research. And for shoppers, the NOVA system is of no assist, as a result of all merchandise in some meals classes shall be labeled as UPF.”
NOVA tells us rather a lot about components, he instructed, however not a lot about eating regimen, about the way to eat. “It doesn’t make sense to categorise meals as wholesome or unhealthy. There are wholesome and unhealthy diets, nevertheless.
“There are lots of meals that ought to solely be consumed moderately in a nutritious diet. It’s also potential, nevertheless, to eat solely “wholesome“ meals in keeping with NOVA, however to have a really unhealthy eating regimen! There isn’t a doubt that most individuals ought to eat extra veggies and fruits for a nutritious diet. Blaming meals to be UPF won’t lead to such a desired shift, nevertheless.”
The NOVA system, Siegrist instructed, might in its simplicity and inflexibility result in authorities and business inaction on enhancing the dietary content material of meals. “Truthfully, I don’t suppose that NOVA could have a robust affect on shoppers consuming behaviour,” he advised us, “however I’m afraid that it would lead to unhealthy governmental selections and it might cut back business’s makes an attempt to enhance the formulation of their meals merchandise.
“They’ll obtain a greater classification inside Nutri-Rating, however not inside NOVA. In NOVA all UPFs are equally unhealthy.
“Why enhance something then?”
Sourced From: Meals High quality and Choice
‘Perceived diploma of meals processing as a cue for perceived healthiness: The NOVA system mirrors shoppers’ perceptions ’
Revealed on: August 2023
Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.104944
Authors: A. Hassig, C. Hartmann, L. Sanchez-Siles, M. Siegrist
