“Natural” Products More Likely to Achieve Consumer Acceptance

A Swiss study of factors that consumers consider when deciding whether to accept or reject innovative food technologies suggests that nanotechnology would be more acceptable than genetic modification (GM). Michael Siegrist, “Factors Influencing Public Acceptance of Innovative Food Technologies and Products,” Trends in Food Science and Technology (forthcoming 2008). Reviewing the literature on the subject, researcher Michael Siegrist found that the processes used to make food are significant considerations for modern consumers. For example, chemical changes involving the addition of an ingredient are viewed as reducing a product’s naturalness, an “all-important” factor, while physical processes, such as grinding, are not. Thus, Siegrist reportedly concludes, “This reasoning suggests that consumers may be more willing to accept nanotechnology food than GM food. Since the former most likely will not be perceived as tampering with nature, few people will have a moral impetus to oppose this technology now.” While trust in the food industry may be a factor in the debate, some suggest that careful marketing of nanoparticles in foods as natural in origin could enhance their acceptability. See FoodUSANavigator.com, March 14, 2008.