Nopal beverage (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a non-traditional food: Sensory properties, expectations, experiences, and emotions of low-income and food-insecure Brazilian potential consumers

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to analyze a nopal beverage (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a non-traditional food, considering its sensory properties, expectations, experiences, and emotions of low-income and food-insecure Brazilian potential consumers. The study was carried out in two main stages. First, the sensory appeal of a nopal beverage was evaluated before and after tasting with expected and actual sensory characterization, respectively, distributed into three different groups: Control, Advantages, and Inconveniences. Secondly, a Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) was applied to learn more about expectations, experiences, and emotions involved in the food pattern of this population. The expected sensory properties for the Inconveniences group showed the lowest grades for all variables, mainly compared to the Advantages group, which showed a difference of 21.98% for nutritious, 16.47% for overall liking, and 55.13% for acceptance. However, after tasting in the Inconveniences group, the acceptance changed from "I would hardly ever eat this" to "I would frequently eat this". In a similar way, the overall liking had an increase of 25.35% from before to after tasting. The interrelationship between the socio-economic characteristics and the treatments revealed significant effects for education level, household income, and gender on the beverage acceptance. The Multiple Factor Analysis showed how socio-demographic aspects impact emotions. For the majority of participants, the attribute they are most concerned about when choosing a food is that it needs to fill them (satisfy their hunger). Therefore, this is the first study of its kind in Brazil, and the results provide good insights on factors that influence food choices of low-income and food-insecure Brazilian potential consumers.

Keywords: Cactus; Emotions; Food Choice Questionnaire; Product information; Sensory analysis; Unfamiliar food.