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ELENA COSTA PRADO is part of Blue Food – Centre for Future Seafood, which aims to take advantage of the opportunities for producing and consuming sustainable food from Swedish waters. She has a background in psychology and has previously worked within industry on consumer behaviour research. Her doctoral project aims to understand the consumer-related barriers that limit consumption of fish and shellfish.

“Seafood is generally a healthier and more sustainable food than food from land animals,” explains Elena. “We should therefore encourage more consumption of food such as oysters, mussels and seaweed, which have a high nutritional content and a low climate impact.”

In Sweden, we eat less than the recommended amount of fish and shellfish, and we mainly eat only four different types: salmon, cod, herring and prawns. To boost consumption and to encourage people to eat more varieties, consumers’ perceptions and associations with seafood need to change.

“As humans, we are quite conservative when it comes to food and are resistant to change. One of the main barriers to food acceptance and dietary variation is food neophobia.”

FOOD NEOPHOBIA IS A FEAR of trying new foods, and has an evolutionary purpose of protecting us from trying potentially poisonous foods. It is particularly strong in children aged two to six, but can continue into adulthood. We all have varying degrees of food neophobia – some of us are more likely to try unfamiliar foods, while others tend to be more cautious.

During her doctoral studies, Elena has investigated consumer behaviour in various ways with a focus on food neophobia. Her results reveal that the higher the degree of food neophobia someone has, the more sensitive they will be to sensory properties such as texture or appearance. One way to try to reduce food neophobia is to serve the ingredient in a more familiar way.

“Some varieties of seafood, such as oysters, are usually served raw and are only eaten on special occasions. Our research shows that we can help to boost consumption by cooking oysters and serving them as something more familiar, such as an oyster burger.”

WORKING AS AN externally employed doctoral student is quite different from the everyday life of other doctoral students. She is affiliated not only to the University, but also to RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, which is her main workplace.

“The advantage is that I work very close to industry, and can collaborate with many different parties and international companies. But you also need to be aware of your limits, to avoid getting involved in too many projects.”

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SHE IS CURRENTLY in her third year and has carried out four studies so far, two of which have been published and a third has just been accepted. In her final study, she plans to investigate whether attitudes and behaviours towards oysters and mussels change for the better when they are served as a spreadable topping. She hopes that all her findings will benefit both consumers and industry when it comes to developing new products. Knowledge about food neophobia is not only relevant when it comes to seafood.

“A better understanding of food neophobia and how to overcome it can be also used, for example, to increase acceptance of plant-based food or food made from insects.”

Text: Camilla Persson
Photo: Elena Costa Prado