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Women in Science Mentoring Program (2018)
SG-008: Food neophobia and willingness to try fortified foods among Nigerians
PI: Folake Idowu-Adebayo, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria
Project Dates: October 2019 - June 2022
Project Overview
In order to combat malnutrition in underdeveloped nations, fortified meals are becoming increasingly popular in Africa. People's willingness to try new cuisines, on the other hand, varies widely. This PEER project sought to study food neophobia in different demographics in Nigeria by examining their responses to food they had tasted or eaten before (using familiar Nigerian products) or not (using their fortified counterparts).
This grant also supported mentoring and research projects for several female undergraduate students. Mentorship sessions included discussions on proposal and CV writing, scholarships for postgraduate study, networking, and work-life balance. The project supported thesis work for one mentee, allowing her to pursue an innovative research idea that most students would have abandoned due to financial constraints.
Final Summary of Project Activities
Using the Food Neophobia Scale, the researchers asked 500 participants to score their familiarity with 20 samples categorized as familiar foods and unfamiliar foods, as well as their willingness to try them. The study found food neophobia is more prevalent among Nigerians than what has been reported for other developed countries, with a mean food neophobia score of 43.25 (SD = 10.66). The researchers found that women were less neophobic compared to men, and food neophobia rose alongside household income. Respondents with a university education were also the most neophobic among educational groups. The research team published several academic articles on their findings and presented their work at the 44th Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology conference.
Publications
Folake Idowu-Adebayo, Vincenzo Fogliano, and Anita Linnemann. 2022. Turmeric-fortified cow and soya milk: golden milk as a street food to support consumer health. Foods 11(4): 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11040558
Folake Idowu-Adebayo, Vincenzo. Fogliano, Matthew O. Oluwamukomi, Segun Oladimeji, and Anita R. Linnemann. 2021. Food neophobia among Nigerian consumers: a study on attitudes towards novel turmeric-fortified drinks. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 101: 3246–3256. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10954
Folake Idowu-Adebayo, Mary J. Toohey, Vincenzo Fogliano, and Anita R. Linnemann. 2021 Enriching street-vended zobo (Hibiscus sabdariffa) drink with turmeric (Curcuma longa) increases its health-supporting properties. Food and Function 12: 761. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0FO02888F
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