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Water scarcity is increasing worldwide, but its effects are particularly severe in Southern Europe, where limited water resources are further strained by climate change and the rise of water-intensive agriculture. In response, EU countries are developing innovative water strategies, expanding the use of reclaimed (treated wastewater) and desalinated water to secure irrigation. However, consumer response to foods produced with these non-conventional waters remains underexplored. This study analyses European consumers’ perceptions of the use of non-conventional water irrigation sources in almond production, along with the EU origin and organic production labels. To this end, discrete choice experiments are used in a sample of 1,371 consumers across three European countries (Spain, Germany, and Sweden). The results show consistent premiums for EU origin and organic production in all countries, while proposed irrigation water sources attract less consumer attention. Despite expectations, reclaimed water does not face greater rejection among consumers than desalinated water. However, notable cross-country differences emerge: Spanish consumers tend to reject almonds irrigated with desalinated or reclaimed water, whereas German and Swedish consumers show neutral or mixed responses. Latent class segmentation within these countries reveals substantial heterogeneity, identifying traditionalist segments, but also groups with a positive willingness to pay for almonds produced employing the proposed water sources. Overall, these alternative water sources appear to be market-compatible, as consumers reveal no strongly negative attitudes. Nevertheless, the continuing importance of traditional attributes such as origin and production system supports the strategy of combining established quality labels with information about the source of water used.

Background: The market for Plant-Based (PB) meat alternatives like Plant-Based Cold Cuts (PBCC), has seen significant growth due to new technologies and rising consumer demand. However, a consistent lexicon for describing this product category is lacking.

Objective: To develop a consumer-derived lexicon from 8 commercial PBCC using rapid sensory methods, and to explore the relationship between these descriptors and consumer Willingness to Pay (WTP) to inform productdevelopment and marketing.

Methods: The study (N = 22 consumers) employed Rapid sensory methods - Flash Profile (FP) and ProjectiveMapping (PM) - to elicit sensory descriptors, with WTP integrated as an attribute in the verbalisation phase of thePM experiment. Data were analysed using Generalised Procrustes Analysis (GPA) and Multiple Factor Analysis(MFA).

Results: Four distinct groupings of PBCC samples: Soy-based samples (Groups 1 & 2) were characterised by“processed”, “moist”, “soft”, “smooth”, “synthetic”, and “vegetal” notes, and were associated with a low WTP.Wheat-based (seitan) samples (Groups 3 & 4) were described as “colourful”, “meat-like”, “textured”, “spicy”,“smoky”, and “umami”, and linked to a high WTP. These findings were consistent across both FP and PManalyses.

Conclusion: This study developed a preliminary consumer-derived lexicon for PBCC using rapid sensory methods. The resulting Sensory Wheel is a first attempt at a lexicon for PBCC to be used for the future characterisation ofthis product category, helpful for product development, branding, and marketing. The integration of WTP into the sensory evaluation provides valuable insights for the PBCC sector.

This study investigates the role of dietary lifestyles and household dynamics in shaping European adults' plant-based food purchase intentions. We first obtained cross-cultural data encompassing 6067 participants, balanced for age and gender from ten European countries. We then classified the respondents based on their self-reported dietary lifestyles (omnivores and non-omnivores). We also grouped the participants based on the dietary lifestyles of the members of their households, whether the respondents were living with omnivores or non-omnivores. We then asked the participants to what extent they would like to purchase plant-based food in the future, from a list of various plant-based food types. To determine pertinent associations between dietary lifestyles and household type, we utilized chi-square association tests. Afterwards, we identified any significant differences across respondent groups in terms of plant-based food purchase intentions through the ANOVA procedure. Our findings revealed that in heterogenous households (households with different dietary lifestyles), the presence of a non-omnivore individual in the household was associated with higher plant-based food purchase intentions of the omnivore respondents. Further, the number of individuals with alternative diets in the household did not have any additive effect towards consumers' purchase intention. Our study thus underscores the role of household composition on shaping dietary choices and highlights the potential for households with non-omnivores to drive shifts towards plant-based food consumption. Finally, this study suggests that focusing on the relationships among heterogeneous households (and not only on the number of cohabitants with varying dietary lifestyles) can promote plant-based consumption and meat reduction behaviors.

This study aims to explore the significant factors driving food consumption through three e-commerce modes: Business-to-Consumer, Online-to-Offline Food Delivery Service, and Click & Collect in developed Western 98countries. A total of 1,461 samples were collected through online surveys in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Descriptive analysis and ordered logistic regression were employed for data analyses. Overall, consumers’ food consumption frequencies with e-commerce were found to be significantly influenced by several socio-demographics, e-commerce food choice motives, innovation-adoption characteristics and e-service quality attributes.

The objectives set by scientific recommendations regarding sustainable and healthy nutrition prove difficult to achieve, particularly due to the insufficient plant-based shift in diets. Fermentation offers potential pathways to create foods that are desirable while having a low impact on the planet and a positive effect on human health. However, several obstacles remain. This article presents the results of a preliminary study conducted in Sweden. Using a series of interviews (n = 9), we focus on the practice of home fermentation. The results are analyzed through the lens of practice theory and life-course events. Representations around health and ecology, the facilitated acquisition of know-how about fermentation and the perceived easiness and affordability of the process seem to play a role in the recruitment of practitioners of fermentation. Further research is ongoing to explore how this practice of domestic fermenting can be recomposed in different contexts. Understanding the barriers and drivers of the 'early adopters' of fermentation could help to provide the general population with the means to have a healthy and sustainable diet.

Sustainable diets have been forwarded as initiatives to mitigate the impact of current food consumption towards health and the environment. For instance, adopting a flexitarian diet and reducing the consumption of animal-sourced food (ASF) are said to help limit the rate of food system greenhouse gas emissions. However, much remains to be explored on how individuals associate themselves with alternative diets. In filling this gap, self-declared omnivores and flexitarians from ten European countries (N = 5870) were surveyed to determine how they identify with a particular diet, considering their food preferences and consumption frequency of ASF and ASF substitutes. The analysis of the data revealed that flexitarians seemed to consume more plant-based alternatives than omnivores, yet their consumption of ASF remained comparable. A series of segmentation analyses likewise revealed that some individuals (N = 563, 34.2%) reporting as flexitarians seemed to behave similarly to conventional omnivores and conversely, some omnivores (N = 1202, 28.5%) behaved similarly to conventional flexitarians in terms of food consumption frequencies. Moreover, significant associations with consuming plant-based food were found when considering the current readiness level of the respondent to transform diets. Taken together, the findings of this study show that identifying with a particular dietary lifestyle is contingent on how individuals set personal thresholds to qualify for a particular diet, thereby providing implications to the way nutritional guidelines frame and define recommendations for dietary intake.

Shifting to dietary patterns rich in plants and low in animal-source foods could substantially lower emissions from the food sector while reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases. The EAT–Lancet Commission proposed the planetary health diet (PHD) to emphasise plant-forward diets and set global targets to guide an urgently needed food-system transformation. However, the PHD's meat-reduction approach has attracted criticism and prompted debate on the potential micronutrient shortfalls of the plant-forward dietary approach. Since the planet simply cannot sustain human diets defaulting towards animal-based solutions, the objective of this Viewpoint is to provide recommendations that address the shortfalls of the PHD, with an emphasis on plant-based sourcing of food. Using a socioecological approach, along with an Integrative Sustainability Framework to evaluate dietary guidelines, in this Viewpoint we recommend seven key thematic areas for further development of the PHD. These themes relate to the bioavailability of micronutrients from plant-based foods, the inclusion of indigenous foods and practices, fortification and supplementation, cultural inclusiveness, and gender-based differences, a broader perspective on processed foods, and strengthening the concept by integrating the One Health approach.

The food system, particularly animal agriculture, is a major contributor to environmental degradation, impacting critical Earth system processes such as climate change, freshwater use, and biodiversity loss. There is a growing consensus that a shift from animal-based to plant-based diets is essential for both human health and environmental sustainability. This review explores the integration of sustainability competences into nutrition education, emphasising how systems thinking, strategic thinking, values thinking, futures thinking, and interpersonal competences can contribute to the production of improved dietary guidelines. By applying these competences to the criticisms of the Planetary Health Diet, the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, and the Mediterranean diet as examples, this review highlights the tactics used by specific stakeholders to undermine sustainable healthy dietary guidelines. The review paper concludes by advocating for future dietary guidelines that are free of financial conflicts of interest, decolonised, and developed through participatory processes in order to ensure that they are equitable, sustainable, and aligned with the needs of diverse populations.

Purpose: This study aims to explore the key factors that influence consumers’ positive or negative image of sustainability in e-commerce food shopping (EFS).

Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through an online questionnaire with 2,039 participants from New Zealand and the United Kingdom. An open-ended question was used to explore consumers’ perceptions toward sustainability in EFS. A linear regression analysis was conducted to associate consumers’ perceptual dimensions with their general image of sustainability in EFS, in order to identify the significant perceptual dimensions that influence consumers to have a positive or negative image of sustainability in EFS.

Findings: Using the open-ended question and content analysis, 27 perceptual dimensions were identified, which are associated with the perceived impact of EFS on the three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental and economic. Additionally, the linear regression analysis identified significant factors influencing consumers’ general image of sustainability in EFS, including EFS experiences, marital status, occupation and the perceptual dimensions “sustainable consumption,” “convenience,” “packaging,” “pollution,” “trustworthiness,” “specific group,” “social interaction” and “local economy.”

Originality/value: This is the first empirical research to systematically explore consumers’ perceptions and images of sustainability in EFS. Utilizing a large sample size, the study provides reliable and generalizable findings that can inform the design of future related studies. The findings can also serve as a valuable reference when formulating policies and marketing strategies to promote or regulate the development of EFS.

Purpose: The diversification of Nutrition Sciences (NS) in recent decades has highlighted the need to review current practices in relation to funding, communication and interaction with stakeholders. The Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) Presidential Activity “Improving standards in the science of nutrition” established three working groups to develop consensus documents. This paper is part of Working Group 2 (WG2) “Organisation, Capabilities and Funding” and aims at describing the European Nutrition Research Landscape, addressing its diversity, challenges and future perspectives.

Methods: WG2 developed two rounds of questionnaires designed to map the current funding architecture in FENS member countries. Questionnaires were administered to representatives of national NS member societies in 2022 and desk research was carried out to describe the main European Union (EU) sources of funding. Qualitative data analysis was performed on questionnaire data collected and agreed and approved by WG2.

Results: 42% of representatives responded to the first round of data collection, and 30% to the second round of data collection. Results indicate that the NS field is mainly funded by public agencies, private actors, and by contract. Most calls are multi-disciplinary and the majority of societies were aware of risks posed by engagement with the private sector and financial conflicts of interest (COI).

Conclusion: This exercise provides an insight into the funding landscape across Europe for NS and highlights the uniquely multifaceted funding sources and dynamics across the continent. This work also underscores the challenges NS faces and progress made with issues surrounding COI and the associated reputation of NS.