Chinese Consumers Prefer Gene-edited Foods to Transgenics

The success and adoption of novel food products depend on consumer acceptance. A recent study was conducted to identify the role of the fear of novel foods on consumer acceptance and revealed that consumers were more open to accepting gene-edited foods.

The study involved 835 geographically dispersed Chinese consumers and focused on the consumer acceptance evaluation of rice and pork products that were specifically bio-engineered to address cadmium contamination and African swine fever, respectively. The objective was to explore the role of food technology neophobia on consumer acceptance and assess how information on the differences between transgenic and gene-editing techniques affected consumer preference.

The study found that consumers were considerably more accepting of gene-edited food products than those developed through genetic modification. It was also noted that a reduction in consumers' fear of novel food technologies can substantially increase consumer valuation and market acceptance of bioengineered food products. The researchers also emphasized the need to consider attitudes in measure acceptance of novel food products.

The study was published by Food Quality and Preference.