Plant-based analogues (PBAs) for meat and dairy are typically categorised as ultra-processed foods. However, current evidence that PBA consumption negatively impacts health is controversial. As such, these products may be inappropriately negatively coloured by the “processed foods are unhealthy” heuristic. We investigated the strength of this heuristic among Swedish consumers and explored its impact on perceived healthiness within different food categories (meat, dairy, seafood, vegetables/legumes, and PBAs). In an online experiment, participants (N=563) rated the healthiness and level of processing of 24 food products (presented as images), completed the food technology neophobia (FTN) scale, and reported consumption frequency of different foods. The results indicated that this heuristic, measured as Pearson’s r between perceived healthiness and level of processing, was prevalent and robust (posterior mean = -0.58, probability of association>99 %) as well as stronger among women and individuals with higher FTN. Moreover, the impact of the heuristic differed across food categories: healthiness ratings for vegetable/legume and seafood products perceived as processed were more negatively impacted compared to those for meat products (probability of association>99 %). The potential implications of this for the protein shift and encouraging substituting red meat with products based on raw materials associated with health (i.e., plants and seafood) are discussed. 

Improving health and sustainability outcomes in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, Democratic) nations necessitates a reduction in red meat consumption. Seafood is often overlooked in achieving this goal. However, simply consuming more of familiar fish species places high stress on production of these species. For this reason, diversification of seafood consumption is also critical. Here the motives for seafood consumption (frequency and diversity) are investigated across two studies by adapting the 4Ns survey to the seafood category. This 16-item survey measures four factors underpinning meat consumption: namely that it is ‘Natural’, ‘Necessary’, ‘Normal’ and ‘Nice’. Swedish consumers’ hedonic and sensory expectations of two herring concepts (traditional pickled contra novel minced and presented as a burger) are also evaluated in relation to the 4Ns. Study 1 (N = 304) revealed that the seafood 4Ns scale had a similar underlying structure to that of meat and had good test-retest reliability. Study 2 (N = 514) showed that consumers expected to like the pickled herring (associated with being ‘seasoned’, ‘salty’, ‘sweet’, ‘firm’, ‘juicy’, ‘chewy’, and ‘slimy’) more than the minced herring (associated with being ‘mushy’, ‘fishy’, ‘grainy’, ‘dry’ and having ‘small bones’), and that ‘Nice’ scores affected expectations of both herring concepts. Food neophobia correlated inversely with seafood consumption frequency, expected liking, the ‘Nice’ subscale, and food agency. Critically, in both studies, enjoyment of seafood (higher ‘Nice’ scores) predicted more frequent and diverse seafood consumption, whilst agreeing that seafood is ‘Necessary’ for health predicted only consumption frequency, not diversity. Communicating the positive sensory attributes of seafood and developing novel product concepts in ways that disconfirm sceptical consumers’ negative sensory expectations may increase acceptance of both familiar and unfamiliar seafood concepts. © 2024 The Authors

The Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale (CAFPAS) is a 28-item validated tool for measuring food agency, a latent construct representing an individual's ability to make and achieve food-preparation and -provisioning goals. Here, key measurement parameters (targeting, threshold ordering, item fit, unidimensionality, differential item functioning, local dependency, and person reliability) of the CAFPAS are evaluated using a specific case of item response theory, Rasch analysis, on data from a development sample (N = 1853; 910 from Sweden; 943 from the US). Winsteps (v.5.1.7) is used for this analysis. The similarity of the Swedish version of the CAFPAS to the original is also assessed. Based on an iterative assessment of the measurement properties with different combinations of items in the development sample, ways to shorten the CAFPAS without jeopardizing construct validity or person reliability are examined. After removing items that do not fit the Rasch model, or that appear redundant in relation to other items, an 11-item version (CAFPAS-short) is suggested and tested using further Rasch analysis on both the development sample and an additional US-based validation sample (N = 1457). Scores of cooking confidence and attitudes are then modelled with measures from the CAFPAS and CAFPAS-short using frequentist and Bayesian analysis. Results suggest that the CAFPAS-short performs similarly to the full-length version, and potential future improvements to the CAFPAS are discussed. This study represents a successful application of item response theory to investigate and shorten a psychometric scale, reducing cognitive load on participants in studies using the CAFPAS whilst minimizing loss of data reliability. © 2023 The Author(s)

One of the most dramatic reductions in the wear of PTFE has been achieved by compositing PTFE with as little as 1–5 wt% of alumina particles; this has been reported to produce wear rates K ∼10−7 mm3/Nm. The mechanisms associated with this reduction in wear are multifaceted, including 1) preventing crack propagation and delamination of the PTFE wear surface, 2) promoting tribochemistry and more recently 3) tribologically-induced breaking of the filler into nanoscale fragments to stabilize and reinforce tribofilms. However, in an effort to keep experiments comparable, many of the studies throughout the literature have focused on a narrow contact pressure range. In these experiments, we explored the effects of contact pressure on the tribological behavior of different PTFE and alumina composites, one of which is reported to achieve ultra-low wear (∼10−7 mm3/Nm) and another that is reported to only have mild reductions in wear (∼1 × 10−5 mm3/Nm) compared to unfilled PTFE (∼4 × 10−4 mm3/Nm). We found that with decreased contact pressures, the PTFE-alumina composite that was previously reported as high wear could achieve ultralow wear rates. The PTFE-alumina composite previously reported to achieve ultralow wear achieved ultralow wear at a range of low to high contact pressures, with a higher pressure limit corresponding to increases in wear. The friction behavior of PTFE-alumina composites was found to be highly dependent on contact pressure, with increasing pressures resulting in decreasing friction coefficients (∼0.5–0.17 over a 0.62–8.5 MPa range). This effect became more pronounced when the contact pressure was incrementally varied during testing resulting in up to a 70% decrease or increase in friction coefficient due to increasing or decreasing the pressure, respectively. IR spectra of the polymer wear surface showed that tribofilms rich in carboxylates and metal oxides form at the full range of contact pressures tested, even at the extremes. This formation of tribofilms at the sliding interface not only contributes to the ultralow wear of these materials, but plays a role in the friction behavior observed. From this, we gained new insight into the role, functionality and limitations of the alumina fillers. 

Although it is clear that i-frame approaches cannot stand alone, the impact of s-frame changes can plateau. Combinations of these approaches may best reflect what we know about behavior and how to support behavioral change. Interactions between i-frame and s-frame thinking are explored here using two examples: alcohol consumption and meat consumption.

Although knowledge surrounding the obstacles omnivorous consumers face when substituting meat products with plant-based alternatives has increased dramatically, less is known about their perspectives on plant-based alternatives to dairy products. Here, these perspectives are assessed in two survey-based studies. Study 1 (N = 175) adapts an existing scale (the 4Ns of meat consumption) to dairy products in an effort to identify similarities and differences between rationalizations for meat and dairy consumption. This 16-item scale quantifies four factors (Natural, Necessary, Normal, and Nice) describing common rationalizations for meat consumption. The results revealed that the 4Ns transfer well to the dairy category, and that endorsement of dairy products as Nice was the strongest predictor of dairy consumption, relative to the other 3Ns. This is further supported by evaluation of consumers’ own qualitative descriptions of why they do or do not consume meat/dairy products, where “taste” was the most frequently used word in both categories. Study 2 replicates the relationships between dairy 4Ns scores and reported dairy consumption found in Study 1 and builds upon these results by showing that 4N score could accurately categorize consumers as frequent (N = 192) or infrequent (N = 210) consumers of plant-based milk alternatives (PBMAs). Differences in consumers’ expectations for the sensory characteristics of cow’s milk and PBMAs are identified, and the impact of rationalization (total 4N score) on the likelihood of expected sensory attribute associations is described. The role of rationalization in shaping sensory expectations and impacting dietary choices, in particular resistance to adopting PBMAs, is discussed.

Switching out meat in favour of plant-based alternatives such as meat substitutes is an important step towards eating more sustainably. Here, the aim was to identify and explore the specific barriers experienced by Swedish consumers when replacing meat with more sustainable alternatives. All meat-eating participants in this study reported some interest in reducing their meat consumption. Aspects of home-use and central-location test methods were combined by using a digital conferencing system to host cooking sessions and focus group discussions online, which was shown to be a viable setup even in this hands-on setting. The discussions targeted participants’ experience preparing meals using meat substitutes as well as their perceived motivators and barriers to reducing meat consumption. Four themes identified through thematic analysis indicated that meat-eating participants, despite their desire or intent to reduce their meat consumption, experienced barriers relating to the following: internal conflict due to holding multiple positive and negative beliefs about meat simultaneously (ambivalence), justification of eating meat (rationalisation), a desire for variety in and control over their food choices (agency), and sensitivity to the views and expectations of other people and the situational context regarding meat (social and structural factors). Possible strategies to support ambivalent individuals in aligning their behaviour with their beliefs instead of vice versa are discussed in the context of the meat paradox. Agency and practical skills, including increasing knowledge in preparing meals with plant-based proteins, likely play a role in bridging this intention–behaviour gap. © 2022 by the authors. 

The oft discussed and fretted over environmental influences on hair have led to a popular consensus which suggests that elevated temperature and humidity lead to frizzier, wilder hair. However, few attempts at actually quantifying these effects have been made. Although frizziness is usually perceived visually, here the influence of variations in temperature and humidity on the tactile perception and friction of curly and straight hair were investigated. It is shown that changes in humidity may disproportionately affect perceived frizziness of curly hair by touch due to concurrent changes in the tactile friction. © The Author(s) 2021.

Improving the tactile aesthetics of products that can be described as touch intensive is an increasing priority within many sectors, including the furniture industry. Understanding which physical characteristics contribute to the haptic experience of a surface, and how, is therefore highly topical. It has earlier been shown that both friction and topography affect tactile perception. Thus, two series of stimuli have been produced using standard coating techniques, with systematic variation in (physical) friction and roughness properties. This was achieved through appropriate selection of matting agents and resins. The stimuli sets were then evaluated perceptually to determine the extent to which discrimination between pairs of surfaces followed the systematic materials variation. In addition to investigating the role of the physical properties in discrimination of the surfaces, their influence on perceived pleasantness and naturalness was also studied. The results indicate that changes in tactile perception can be understood in terms of friction and roughness, and that varying the matting agents (topography) and resins (material properties) in the coatings provide the controlling factors for furniture applications. Perceived pleasantness is associated with low friction and smoother topography, whilst perceived naturalness is found to be described by an interaction between tactile friction and the average maximum peak height of the surface features. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2021, The Author(s).

Human tactile evaluations were combined with tactile friction measurements to quantify the perceptual experience of touching coated panels. Monosized beads of nine different polymer compositions were added to a soft-touch waterborne two-component PUR coating. Introducing beads of different composition affected tactile perception.