Lim See Meng, Law Hanbin, Lee Siew Siew
Nutritional Sciences Programme & Centre for Community Health Studies (ReaCH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia.
School of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih 43500, Malaysia.
Foods. 2023 Jul 25;12(15):2824. doi: 10.3390/foods12152824.
Suboptimal food is defined as physically imperfect food that deviates from the norm in terms of appearance without compromising its intrinsic quality or safety. Consumers' quality perception and acceptance of suboptimal food contribute to food waste. Therefore, this study aims to explore consumers' quality perception and acceptance of suboptimal food and the factors associated with the acceptance of suboptimal food. An online survey was conducted among 414 consumers residing in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, through convenience sampling. They completed an online questionnaire asking for sociodemographic information, quality perception and acceptance of suboptimal food, and information related to food waste. Only 11.4% of consumers chose suboptimal foods, with visually deviated suboptimal foods (apples with brown spots) having the lowest acceptance (9.9%). Consumers perceived suboptimal foods as unattractive and that they should be consumed quickly. Malays were less likely to accept suboptimal foods, while middle-income households were more likely to accept suboptimal foods at home. In conclusion, consumers have a low acceptance of suboptimal food, and suboptimal food was perceived as unappealing and that it should be consumed quickly. Notwithstanding the findings that emerge from this, the results may lack generalisability to the wider population as only a convenience sample was used.
次优食品被定义为外观上有缺陷但不影响其内在品质或安全性的食品。消费者对次优食品的质量认知和接受程度会导致食物浪费。因此，本研究旨在探讨消费者对次优食品的质量认知和接受程度以及与次优食品接受度相关的因素。通过便利抽样对居住在马来西亚雪兰莪州和吉隆坡的414名消费者进行了在线调查。他们完成了一份在线问卷，询问社会人口统计学信息、对次优食品的质量认知和接受程度以及与食物浪费相关的信息。只有11.4%的消费者选择次优食品，其中视觉上有偏差的次优食品（有褐斑的苹果）接受度最低（9.9%）。消费者认为次优食品缺乏吸引力，应该尽快食用。马来人接受次优食品的可能性较小，而中等收入家庭在家中接受次优食品的可能性较大。总之，消费者对次优食品的接受度较低，且次优食品被认为缺乏吸引力，应该尽快食用。尽管本研究有这些发现，但由于仅使用了便利样本，结果可能无法推广到更广泛的人群。
