This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For years, nutrition experts have warned about the many risks of eating ultra-processed foods, including obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Instead, they advise consumers to choose more natural foods.
So how are shoppers determining whether a food is natural? According to a new study from the UBC Sauder School of Business, they're using product shelf lives as a shorthand, even when shelf life isn't a reliable indicator. For the study, titled Naturalness against environment-friendliness: The impact of shelf life on food perceptions and purchase decisions, published in Journal of Consumer Psychology, researchers conducted a series of experiments.
In one, participants compared potato chips with five-month and nine-month shelf lives. They rated the chips with the shorter shelf life as more natural and healthier, while those with the longer shelf life were considered more environmentally friendly and better for reducing waste. In another experiment, participants chose between pasta sauces with one- and three-year shelf lives.
When the researchers emphasized the importance of consuming natural foods, nearly 70% chose the item with the one-year shelf life. When they emphasized the importance of protecting the environment, that number fell to 43%. Even when participants were shown that the only reason for a product's longer shelf life was better packaging (a high-performance seal on a mayonnaise jar), they opted for the mayo with a shorter shelf life when naturalness mattered.
Likewise, when participants were shown two granola bars with nearly identical ingredients and nutritional information but different shelf lives, they still chose the bar with the shorter shelf life when naturalness mattered. The researchers believe consumers use shelf life as a kind of mental shortcut to determine whether food is natural and, in the process, may choose foods that are more likely to be wasted. "We provide all the necessary information to make a rational choice.
We provide ingredient lists. We provide nutritional facts. But it's a lot to process," explains UBC Sauder associate professor Dr.
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