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Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE

The use of food additives (FAs) in food manufacturing is a well-accepted practice worldwide. Inadequate knowledge concerning their safety may cause negative attitude surrounding their use. This would potentially impact the purchase of foods that the consumer perceives as containing FAs. This study a...

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Autores principales: Osaili, Tareq M., Obaid, Reyad S., Alkayyali, Sanaa A. I., Ayman, Hind, Bunni, Sara M., Alkhaled, Shaema B., Hasan, Fayeza, Mohamad, Maysm N., Cheikh Ismail, Leila
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9987778/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36877679
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282495
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author Osaili, Tareq M.
Obaid, Reyad S.
Alkayyali, Sanaa A. I.
Ayman, Hind
Bunni, Sara M.
Alkhaled, Shaema B.
Hasan, Fayeza
Mohamad, Maysm N.
Cheikh Ismail, Leila
author_facet Osaili, Tareq M.
Obaid, Reyad S.
Alkayyali, Sanaa A. I.
Ayman, Hind
Bunni, Sara M.
Alkhaled, Shaema B.
Hasan, Fayeza
Mohamad, Maysm N.
Cheikh Ismail, Leila
author_sort Osaili, Tareq M.
collection PubMed
description The use of food additives (FAs) in food manufacturing is a well-accepted practice worldwide. Inadequate knowledge concerning their safety may cause negative attitude surrounding their use. This would potentially impact the purchase of foods that the consumer perceives as containing FAs. This study aimed to assess knowledge and attitudes of consumers towards the use and safety of FAs in the UAE. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey distributed via social media platforms (n = 1037). Less than one-third of the participants (26.7%) in this study stated that they knew what FAs are. About half the respondents believed that organic products did not contain FAs. The proportion of respondents who reported that the purpose of adding FAs is to extend shelf life, better the taste and aroma of food, enhance nutritional value, improve consistency and texture, and boost appearance and color was 92.1%, 75.0%, 23.5%, 56.6%, and 69.4%, respectively. Around 61% believed that all FAs were harmful to human health. The level of FA knowledge increased with age and education level. About 60% of the respondents reported that food labels did not provide sufficient information about FAs. The most preferred platforms for consumers to receive information about FAs were social media (41.1%), followed by brochures (24.6%). Overall, the UAE population had inadequate knowledge and a hesitant attitude concerning FAs. The municipalities and food industry should play an active role in educating the public to prevent and reduce any possible adverse attitudes towards processed food products.
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spelling pubmed-99877782023-03-07 Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE Osaili, Tareq M. Obaid, Reyad S. Alkayyali, Sanaa A. I. Ayman, Hind Bunni, Sara M. Alkhaled, Shaema B. Hasan, Fayeza Mohamad, Maysm N. Cheikh Ismail, Leila PLoS One Research Article The use of food additives (FAs) in food manufacturing is a well-accepted practice worldwide. Inadequate knowledge concerning their safety may cause negative attitude surrounding their use. This would potentially impact the purchase of foods that the consumer perceives as containing FAs. This study aimed to assess knowledge and attitudes of consumers towards the use and safety of FAs in the UAE. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey distributed via social media platforms (n = 1037). Less than one-third of the participants (26.7%) in this study stated that they knew what FAs are. About half the respondents believed that organic products did not contain FAs. The proportion of respondents who reported that the purpose of adding FAs is to extend shelf life, better the taste and aroma of food, enhance nutritional value, improve consistency and texture, and boost appearance and color was 92.1%, 75.0%, 23.5%, 56.6%, and 69.4%, respectively. Around 61% believed that all FAs were harmful to human health. The level of FA knowledge increased with age and education level. About 60% of the respondents reported that food labels did not provide sufficient information about FAs. The most preferred platforms for consumers to receive information about FAs were social media (41.1%), followed by brochures (24.6%). Overall, the UAE population had inadequate knowledge and a hesitant attitude concerning FAs. The municipalities and food industry should play an active role in educating the public to prevent and reduce any possible adverse attitudes towards processed food products. Public Library of Science 2023-03-06 /pmc/articles/PMC9987778/ /pubmed/36877679 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282495 Text en © 2023 Osaili et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Osaili, Tareq M.
Obaid, Reyad S.
Alkayyali, Sanaa A. I.
Ayman, Hind
Bunni, Sara M.
Alkhaled, Shaema B.
Hasan, Fayeza
Mohamad, Maysm N.
Cheikh Ismail, Leila
Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE
title Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE
title_full Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE
title_fullStr Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE
title_full_unstemmed Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE
title_short Consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the UAE
title_sort consumers’ knowledge and attitudes about food additives in the uae
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9987778/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36877679
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282495
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