Consumer awareness of food antioxidants. Synthetic vs. Natural

Abstract Food antioxidants are a core topic of food science due mainly to the consumption of ultra-processed foods, which cannot be overlooked, and represent an importance to modern society. At the same time, natural food antioxidants are gaining attention in studies due to its food safety aspects, that commonly affect food choices. Based on this, the present study aimed to explore the cognitive evaluation of food antioxidants by consumers using the qualitative consumer technique Word Association. Two stimuli were given. Respondents were first asked to write down the first four words that came to mind; descriptions, associated thoughts, or feelings when reading “Food Antioxidants”. Secondly the word Natural was added and the stimulus was “Natural Food Antioxidants”. The Word Association technique has been shown to be an important tool for cognitive evaluation of the perception of food antioxidants, and the dimensions, Health, Food Safety, Preservatives, Source and Preference which arose and differentiated the stimuli. The results revealed some prior knowledge about issues related to food antioxidants, natural or not. Additionally, showed a clear potential use for natural food antioxidants by the food industry, judging by consumer perception that primarily related cognitively to positive aspects of healthy and food safety.