Food Acceptance: The Role of Consumer Perception and Attitudes

9 pages.-- Online version published 8 October 2009.-- The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comThe process by which man accepts or rejects food is of a multi-dimensional nature. In complex food matrices, it is not always easy to establish relationships between the individual chemical stimuli concentration, physiological perception, and consumer reaction. Consumers’ responses to food are not only based on the sensory characteristics of the product and on their physiological status but they are also related to other factors, such as previous information acquired about the product, their past experience, and their attitudes and beliefs. This paper discusses different methods to obtain information about consumer perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations.MICINN of Spain (Project AGL 2007-63444). Fondo Social Europeo contract of author S. Bayarri in the program I3P from CSICPeer reviewe