Food Protection Trends - May/June 2021 - 309

out ill effects, they would discount any negative information.
Participants stated that good sensory characteristics of foods,
previous experience with foods, and a low price might also lead
them to ignore negative information.
Factors influencing the selection of orange juice
Participants expressed individual preferences for different
types of orange juice: no pulp, with pulp, added calcium, low
acid, low or no added sugar. Some specifically mentioned juice
brands they believed to be fresh-squeezed; however, others
were unsure whether the orange juice they purchased was
fresh-squeezed. Participants knew the juice at a restaurant or
supermarket was fresh-squeezed if they saw oranges and a juicer
machine. Those participants who had their own orange tree
squeezed them for juice. All liked the taste of fresh-squeezed
juice, although some complained it was too acidic sometimes.
Juice shelf life was irrelevant to most people because the juice
was consumed quickly.
Participants ranked the importance of six label statements
individually in making their decision to purchase orange juice:
" no chemical added " was ranked significantly more important
than " fresh-squeezed, " and " fresh-squeezed " was ranked
significantly more important than " pasteurized. " There was no
significant difference between the student participant group and
the professionally recruited consumer participant group with a
Kruskal-Wallis independent sample test, P < 0.05 (Table 2).
Some participants grappled with the term " fresh. " Some
suggested that " fresh-squeezed " meant the juice was squeezed
within a day of being purchased, or within the last 24 h. Participants then wondered aloud and discussed how the juice
could be in a sealed container if it had just been squeezed.
Most participants believed that " fresh " referred to the distinctive taste of the juice rather than to the precise number of
hours since the juice had been squeezed.

Understanding of pasteurization
All but one participant believed that all juice they
purchased at the supermarket was likely to be pasteurized.
Most, but not all, knew the function of pasteurization. A
few indicated that their knowledge of pasteurization was
limited. Some mistakenly believed that pasteurized meant
that the product was sterile, that is, that all bacteria had been
destroyed. All acknowledged that pasteurized juice tasted
different than fresh-squeezed juice. The participant who used
the Weston Price website drank raw milk and was skeptical
about the benefits of pasteurization.
Reactions to DMDC
People reacted negatively to the words " dimethyl dicarbonate. "
They had not heard the term before and viewed it as a chemical.
They wanted to know what it did, how it was derived, the longterm effects of consumption, and how long the chemical had
been studied.
After hearing the description of DMDC, many did not
understand how a chemical could break into two components
and no longer be present in the juice when a consumer
purchased it. Participants thought that if DMDC had been
added, it must still be present in the juice. Some queried
how much methanol was present in the juice and whether
the amount was harmful. People wondered whether DMDC
was used in other countries. Several were reassured by its
approval in Europe. The fact that DMDC was already in
tea, sports drinks, flavored water, and other products was
reassuring. One woman said, " So we are already drinking it,
and we are okay. "
People believed food companies wanted to use DMDC to
avoid the cost of pasteurization. When they were reminded
that the taste of fresh-squeezed juice and customer safety
were the driving forces behind this approach, several

TABLE 2. Participants' mean ranking scores of the importance of each label term, in a study
of consumer preferences related to labeling of processing aids in orange juicea

No chemical added
No sugar added
All natural
Freshly squeezed
Organic
Pasteurized
Friedman test P-value

All participants
N = 58

Student participants
N = 33

Opinion Inc. participants
N = 25

2.67A
2.95AB
3.00ABC
3.78BC
3.90CD
4.74D
P < 0.001

2.76A
2.97A
3.12A
3.67AB
3.64AB
4.88B
P < 0.001

2.56A
2.92AB
2.84AB
3.92AB
4.24BC
4.56C
P < 0.001

Score of 1 is most important; 5 is least important. Within each column, means with the same letter are not significantly different.

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