“How long is its life?”: qualitative analysis of the knowledge, perceptions and uses of fermented foods among young adults living in the city of Barcelona
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14306/renhyd.25.4.1313Keywords:
Perception, Feeding Behaviour, Food Preferences, Young Adult, Fermented Foods and BeveragesAbstract
Introduction: Perceptions of food vary historically and socioculturally. Fermented foods have been part of diets since ancient times and, in Spain, there are a wide variety of fermented foods. If the scientific literature abounds with knowledge about these foods from the historical, technological and nutritional point of view, there are few studies on the perceptions and uses of fermented products. From the perspective of the anthropology of food, this study sought to identify the knowledge, perceptions and uses concerning fermented foods.
Material and methods: A cross-sectional and exploratory qualitative study was carried out based on three discussion groups with young adults in the city of Barcelona, dynamized through a script containing 24 questions. The discourses were transcribed and a thematic analysis was carried out.
Results: The category “fermented food” is diverse and polysemic. In general, the fermentation process was unknown, confusing, or explained with some difficulty. Individuals perceived the fermented products and their production processes from multiple dimensions expressed from dichotomous values that intersect pleasant and unpleasant to taste, traditional and novel, convenient and inconvenient for health, industrial and artisan/home made, trust/safety and distrust/risk. A low presence of these foods was observed in the declared diets.
Conclusions: Different rationalities were used to define fermented products: according to the fermentation process, culinary practices, food, and its composition and according to uses, table manners and the place it occupies in each food culture. Although the relationship between these foods and their effects on health occupied a prominent place in the discourses, the consumption criteria varied according to each fermented food and informant and, in general, their consumption was not due to their fermented condition.
References
(1) Fischler C. El (H)omnívoro: el gusto, la cocina y el cuerpo. Barcelona: Anagrama; 1995.
(2) Contreras J. Ethnodiététique. In: Poulain JP, editor. Dictionnaire des cultures alimentaires. Paris: PUF; 2012. p. 516-523.
(3) Douglas M. Pureza y Peligro: un análisis de los conceptos de contaminación y tabú. Madrid: XXI; (1991[1966]).
(4) de Moraes Prata Gaspar MC, Garcia AM, Larrea-Killinger C. How would you define healthy food? Social representations of Brazilian, French and Spanish dietitians and young laywomen. Appetite. 2020;153:104728, doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104728.
(5) Gracia-Arnaiz M. Fat bodies and thin bodies. Cultural, biomedical and market discourses on obesity. Appetite. 2010;55(2):219-25, doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2010.06.002.
(6) Zafra Aparici E, Muñoz García A, Larrea-Killinger C. ¿Sabemos lo que comemos?: Percepciones sobre el riesgo alimentario en Cataluña, España. Salud Colect. 2016;12(4):505-18, doi: 10.18294/sc.2016.932.
(7) Begueria A. Un equilibrio imperfecto: alimentación ecológica, cuerpo y toxicidad. Barcelona: UOC; 2016.
(8) Espeitx Bernat E, Cáceres Nevot J. Maneras de clasificar los alimentos y elecciones alimentarias. AIBR. 2019;14(01), doi: 10.11156/aibr.140108.
(9) de Moraes Prata Gaspar MC. Les produits allégés sous le poids des contextes socioculturels. Cah Nutr Diét. 2020;55(4):204-11, doi: 10.1016/j.cnd.2020.04.002.
(10) Azevedo E. Healthy food for what? Geographers. 2018;25:105-112.
(11) Leroy F, Geyzen A, Janssens M, De Vuyst L, Scholliers P. Meat fermentation at the crossroads of innovation and tradition: A historical outlook. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2013;31(2):130-7, doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2013.03.008.
(12) Montanari M. Estruturas de produção e sistemas alimentares. In: Flandrin JL, Montanari M, editors. História da alimentação. São Paulo: Estação Liberdade; 1998. p. 282-291.
(13) Pedrocco GA. Indústria alimentare as novas técnicas de conservação. In: Flandrin JL, Montanari M, editors. História da alimentação. São Paulo: Estação Liberdade; 1998. p. 763-778.
(14) Medina X. Espagne. In: Poulain JP, editor. Dictionnaire des cultures alimentaires. Paris: PUF; 2012. p. 494-507.
(15) Contreras J. Patrimônio e Globalização: o caso das culturas alimentares. In: Canesqui AM, Garcia RWD, editors. Antropologia e Nutrição: um diálogo possível. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Fiocruz; 2005. p. 129-146.
(16) Watawana MI, Jayawardena N, Gunawardhana CB, Waisundara VY. Health, Wellness, and Safety Aspects of the Consumption of Kombucha. J Chem. 2015;2015:e591869, doi: 10.1155/2015/591869.
(17) Hey M. Against healthist fermentation: Problematizing the ‘good’ of gut health and ferments. J Critic Diet. 2020;5(1):12-22, doi: 10.32920/cd.v5i1.1334.
(18) Pinto L de PF, Silva HLA, Kuriya SP, Maçaira PM, Oliveira FLC, Cruz AG, et al. Understanding perceptions and beliefs about different types of fermented milks through the application of projective techniques: A case study using Haire’s shopping list and free word association. J Sens Stud. 2018;33(3):e12326, doi: 10.1111/joss.12326.
(19) Hearst R, Choukri M. Healthy Adult Women’s Perceptions about Fermented Foods. Proceedings. 2019;37(1):34, doi: 10.3390/proceedings2019037034.
(20) Kim SA, Hong WS. The Effect of Food Choice Motive on Consumption Attitude, Satisfaction, and Purchase Intention for Traditional Fermented Foods in the Twenties (Mediating Effect of Attitude and Satisfaction). J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr. 2019;48(4):482-493.
(21) Contreras J, Gracia-Arnaiz M. Alimentación y Cultura: perspectivas antropológicas. Barcelona: Ariel; 2005.
(22) van Kleef E, van Trijp HCM, Luning P. Consumer research in the early stages of new product development: a critical review of methods and techniques. Food Qual Prefer. 2005;16(3):181-201, doi: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2004.05.012.
(23) Ng ESW, Schweitzer L, Lyons ST. New Generation, Great Expectations: A Field Study of the Millennial Generation. J Bus Psychol. 2010;25(2):281-92, doi: 10.1007/s10869-010-9159-4.
(24) Pomarici E, Vecchio R. Millennial generation attitudes to sustainable wine: an exploratory study on Italian consumers. J Clean Prod. 2014;66:537-45, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.058.
(25) Poulain JP. Manger Aujourd’hui: attitudes, normes et pratiques. Toulouse: Privat; 2002.
(26) Morgan D. Focus group as qualitative research. Qualitative Research Methods Series. London: Sage Publications; 1997.
(27) Veiga L, Gondim SMG A. utilização de métodos qualitativos na Ciência Política e no Marketing Político. Opin Publica. 2001;7:1-15, doi: 10.1590/S0104-62762001000100001.
(28) Gondim SMG. Grupos focais como técnica de investigação qualitativa: desafios metodológicos. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto). 2002;12:149-61, doi: 10.1590/S0103-863X2002000300004.
(29) Killinger CL, García AM, Begueria A, Pons JM. Como un sedimento que se va quedando en el cuerpo: percepción social del riesgo sobre compuestos tóxicos persistentes y otras sustancias químicas sintéticas en la alimentación entre mujeres embarazadas y lactantes en España. AIBR: Rev de Antropol Iberoam. 2019;14(1):121-44.
(30) Fontalba-Navas A, Zafra Aparici E, Prata-Gaspar MC de M, Herrera-Espejo E, Company-Morales M, Larrea-Killinger C. Motivating Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in Spain to Avoid Persistent Toxic Substances in Their Diet. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(23):8719, doi: 10.3390/ijerph17238719.
(31) Backes DS, Colomé JS, Erdmann RH, Lunardi VL. Grupo focal como técnica de coleta e análise de dados em pesquisas qualitativas. O Mundo da Saúde. 2011;35(4):438-442.
(32) Grady MP. Qualitative and Action Research: A Practitioner Handbook. Bloomington: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation; 1998.
(33) Blanchet A, Gotman A. L’entretien. Paris: Armand Colin; 2005.
(34) Universidad de Barcelona. Código de buenas prácticas en investigación. Barcelona: Agència de Polítiques i de Qualitat UB; 2010.
(35) Gracia-Arnaiz M. Alimentación, trabajo y género. De cocinas, cocineras y otras tareas domésticas. Panorama Social. 2014;19:25-36.
(36) Gaspar MCDMP, Verthein Ú Entre la “salud” y la “tradición”: las representaciones sociales de la dieta mediterránea. Physis. 2019;29:e290217, doi: 10.1590/s0103-73312019290217.
(37) Corbeau JP. Itinéraires de mangeurs. In: Poulain, JP, Corbeau, JP, editors. Penser l’alimentation: entre imaginaire et rationalité. Paris: Privat; 2002. p. 137-188.
(38) Gaspar MC de MP, Pascua MR, Begueria A, Anadon S, Martinez AB, Larrea-Killinger C. Comer en tiempos de confinamiento: gestión de la alimentación, disciplina y placer. Perifèria. 2020;25(2):63-73, doi: 10.5565/rev/periferia.764.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Maria Clara de Moraes Prata Gaspar, Marta Ruiz, Claudia Puiggròs
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This journal 