Consumer knowledge and attitudes towards microalgae as food: The case of Spain

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2021Author
Lafarga, Tomás
Rodríguez Bermúdez, Ruth
Morillas-España, Ainoa
Villaró, Silvia
García-Vaquero, Marco
Morán, Lara
Sánchez-Zurano, Ana
González López, Cynthia Victoria
Acién Fernández, Francisco Gabriel
Suggested citation
Lafarga, Tomás;
Rodríguez Bermúdez, Ruth;
Morillas-España, Ainoa;
Villaró, Silvia;
García-Vaquero, Marco;
Morán, Lara;
...
Acién Fernández, Francisco Gabriel.
(2021)
.
Consumer knowledge and attitudes towards microalgae as food: The case of Spain.
Algal Research, 2021, vol. 54, p. 102174..
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2020.102174.
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Spanish consumers’ knowledge and attitudes towards microalgae as food were assessed using a specific questionnaire
- a total of 3084 Spanish consumers over 18 years old were considered in the current study. Overall, the
questionnaire revealed that there is a huge lack of knowledge on basic aspects of microalgae, especially within
the youngest respondents (18–24 years old) and for those aged over 65 years old. Approximately 85% of all
respondents scored the statement “There is a big lack of information about microalgae” with either 4 or 5 (using a 5-
point hedonic scale), demonstrating that microalgae and their potential applications are unknown to the majority
of the Spanish population. Spanish consumers consider microalgae as: (i) sustainable and environmentally
friendly, (ii) nutritious and healthy, and (iii) safe, which is of key importance for food products. The main reasons
that were given for not consuming microalgae were lack of information available on the product and lack of
consuming habit. The current study also demonstrated that increasing consumer’s knowledge on microalgae has
the potential to increase consumer choice and market shares of microalgae-enriched products. Results reported
herein could be extrapolated to other European countries, although perception and attitudes towards food can
vary depending on cultural considerations.
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Algal Research, 2021, vol. 54, p. 102174.European research projects
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