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Consumer Perception of the Circular Economy Concept Applied to the Food Domain: An Exploratory Approach

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  • Pedro Manuel Sousa

    (GreenUPorto–Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/INOV4Agro, Departamento de Geociências, Ambiente e Ordenamento do Território (DGAOT), Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. da Agrária, 747, 4485-646 Vila do Conde, Portugal)

  • Maria João Moreira

    (GreenUPorto–Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/INOV4Agro, Departamento de Geociências, Ambiente e Ordenamento do Território (DGAOT), Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. da Agrária, 747, 4485-646 Vila do Conde, Portugal)

  • Ana Pinto de Moura

    (GreenUPorto–Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/INOV4Agro, Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia (DCeT), Universidade Aberta, Rua do Amial, 752, 4200-055 Porto, Portugal)

  • Rui Costa Lima

    (SenseTest, Lda, Rua Zeferino Costa, 341, 4400-345 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal)

  • Luís Miguel Cunha

    (GreenUPorto–Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/INOV4Agro, Departamento de Geociências, Ambiente e Ordenamento do Território (DGAOT), Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, R. da Agrária, 747, 4485-646 Vila do Conde, Portugal)

Abstract

Every year, agri-food industries in industrialised countries produce approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food loss and waste. The adoption of a circular economy policy has received special attention by the agri-food industries, allowing for the creation and development of new food products made of by-products that would otherwise be wasted or used for secondary applications. The present work, of an exploratory nature, aims to assess how consumers conceptualise the circular economy in order to identify consumer recognition of the use of by-products from the food industry to upcycle food products and to evaluate attitudes towards the circular economy. To this end, a mixed-methodology was applied to 340 participants. The first part was qualitative and used free word association to evaluate consumers’ conceptualisation of the circular economy and use of by-products as foods. Data were analysed by grouping the responses into exclusive and exhaustive categories and a correspondence analysis was also performed to originate perceptual maps. Additionally, a questionnaire was designed to evaluate major concepts and attitudes correlated with the circular economy. Data were reduced by principal component analysis (PCA) and participants grouped through clustering. Results showed that consumers understand circular economy as related mainly into Sustainability, Economy, and Circularity dimensions. Participants had great difficulty identifying the by-products used as foods or as food ingredients. From the quantitative data, four groups were identified based on the associations to the six principal components originated by the PCA. However, the results highlighted a very low association with all clusters of the Food Valorisation dimension within the concept of the circular economy, and also a lack of a clear understanding of consumers’ attitudes towards food products from the circular economy. Greater promotion and dissemination by the competent entities aimed at the general public may contribute towards greater integration, participation and acceptance of the circular economy concept for the upscaling of food by-products.

Suggested Citation

  • Pedro Manuel Sousa & Maria João Moreira & Ana Pinto de Moura & Rui Costa Lima & Luís Miguel Cunha, 2021. "Consumer Perception of the Circular Economy Concept Applied to the Food Domain: An Exploratory Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:20:p:11340-:d:655797
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Phemelo Tamasiga & Taghi Miri & Helen Onyeaka & Abarasi Hart, 2022. "Food Waste and Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-30, August.
    4. Zăpucioiu Luiza-Florentina & Sterie Maria-Cristina & Dimitriu Theodor Anton, 2023. "The Relevance of the Circular Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 17(1), pages 1534-1543, July.

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