Perceived degree of food processing as a cue for perceived healthiness: The NOVA system mirrors consumers' perceptions

Demand for processed food is increasing, but at the same time, some of these products have been strongly criticised for causing non-communicable diseases. Only a few studies have analysed consumers' perceptions of food processing and, especially, ultra-processed foods. We examined consumers' associations with processed foods, as well as how their processing and healthiness perceptions are related to food classification systems (i.e. NOVA) and the nutritional value of foods (i.e. Nutri-Score). An online survey was conducted with 498 Swiss consumers, who indicated their associations with the term 'foods produced by the industry'. Furthermore, the respondents indicated how they perceived the healthiness and degree of processing of 27 foods that differed in how much they had been processed. The results suggest that consumers have rather negative associations with food processing. Consumers use the perceived degree of processing as a cue in their evaluation of the healthiness of foods. The use of this heuristic may result in biased decisions. Furthermore, we found a strong agreement between laypeople's perceived level of processing and the NOVA classification system.

Automated summary

Demand for processed food is increasing, but some of these products have been criticized for causing non-communicable diseases. This study examined consumers' perceptions of food processing and ultra-processed foods, and its relationship with food classification systems and nutritional value. The results showed that consumers have negative associations with food processing and use the perceived degree of processing as a cue for evaluating the healthiness of foods. Furthermore, there was strong agreement between laypeople's perceived level of processing and the NOVA classification system.