Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
Agri-food: Consumer confidence in biotechnologies is growing
Consumer confidence in biotechnology in the agri-food sector is growing, as shown by an ENEA study based on a survey[1] which indicates that 65% of the interviewees would try gluten-free products produced by biotechnology and 57% would buy them at a higher price than the current market price. Furthermore, recognized benefits for health and the environment positively influence the acceptance of biotechnologies.
The research stemmed from the POC ENEA "Bioglusafe" project, aimed at developing detoxified gluten proteins with biotechnologies, in order to obtain products similar to gluten-containing products but but edible by coeliacs.
“We investigated the level of awareness and acceptance of advanced biotechnologies by consumers and assessed their knowledge of the celiac disease and their propensity to purchase innovative products with detoxified gluten. We then compared our results with data from similar studies in the literature such as that of Bucchi and Neresini in 2004”, explained the coordinator of the study Paola Sangiorgio, researcher at the ENEA Laboratory of Bioproducts and Bioprocesses.
“Our findings show consumers’ opinion has changed in twenty years. 52% of those interviewed at the time found them morally unacceptable, while today they are considered acceptable and useful. However, the perception of risk associated with biotechnology remained unchanged both in 2020, the year of our study, and in 2003”, said the researcher.
The 2003 survey showed a high level of trust of the scientific community regarding genetic technologies but a low level of trust in public sector institutions. Instead now, as Sangiorgio observes, "On the contrary, our latest findings show that in 2020 consumers trusted both scientists and institutions, a phenomenon linked to the health emergency occurred at the time, marked by a strong cooperation between science and politics".
“Another important aspect concerns the great importance of a proper communication of scientific findings, which can hinder proliferation and dissemination of news that can lead to misinterpret reality and provide its partial or distorted image, due to an ever-increasing diffusion of information from different sources often unverifiable”, said the researcher.
Notes
[1] Survey conducted from December 2020 to January 2021 on a sample of 511 people -mostly women (65%)- consulted online. The most represented age group was between 18 and 24 (24%). 66% of the participants had a tertiary education and 61% had a scientific education. The most represented region was Lazio (with Rome in the lead).