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Brazil. These three regions contain 88% of the Brazilian
population, even though they cover only 36% of the Brazilian
territory (27).
The greater representation of women in the present study
may be due to the fact that women are usually the food
buyers for their households and they are more interested
than men in participating in this type of research project, as
reported by other researchers (22, 51). The survey was not
designed to target a specific social segment, but responses
from individuals with a graduate degree prevailed. Similar
results have been obtained in other studies conducted
in Brazil in which the behavior of Brazilian consumers
was evaluated; the participation of individuals with a
high educational level were also more prevalent (22, 31).
According to the most recent Brazilian demographic census,
the educational level of the Brazilian population in 2019
was as follows: 14% held an undergraduate degree, 30%
had completed high school, and the remaining 66% did not
have a high school degree, including the 6.9% who had no
formal education (27). Hence, the present survey failed to
reach the most vulnerable segments of the population, who
have limited if any access to the Internet. Regarding housing,
the highest percentage of participants reported living in
households with two or three people (most with none
or fewer than two children), also in agreement with data
published in the 2019 IBGE report, which determined that
the national average was 3.3 inhabitants per household (27).
Most participants in the present study (1,439; 95.3%)
reported eating fresh vegetables. This result corroborates data
collected in a nationwide study conducted by the Center for
Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health of the
University of São Paulo and published by NutriNet Brazil
(53). That study addressed the consumption of vegetables
before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of
the 10,116 participants, 8.831 (87.3%) reported that they
used to consume fresh vegetables regularly. The onset of the
pandemic coincided with a 1.8% increase in consumption of
these products.
Data on the production and consumption of MPV in
Brazil are still scarce. The available information comes
from a few scientific studies conducted in selected cities, in
which increased commercialization of these products was
attributed to changes in lifestyle and the growing presence
of MPV in supermarkets and grocery stores (6, 39, 47).
Although most participants reported familiarity with MPV,
only 45.4% consumed these products. The present study
was not designed to address the proximity of participants to
establishments that sell MPV; the assumption was that the
purchase decision is more related to consumers' lifestyle.
Convenience and quick preparation were identified as the
main determining factors for consumption, consistent with
the fact that changes in lifestyle, particularly the lack of
time to prepare food, have increased the demand for these
products (26). The main reasons given for not consuming
these products were distrust of their hygienic quality and
their higher price.
Similar results were found by Perez et al. (43), who
conducted a survey with 246 participants in Brazilian
supermarkets in Belo Horizonte, MG; 56 (23%) used to
consume MPV regularly, mainly due to convenience (46%)
and short preparation time (21%). The main reasons for
nonconsumption were high prices (31.9%), preference for
selecting and preparing fresh vegetables (23%), and distrust
of the hygienic quality of these products (17.9%). Sato
et al. (50) conducted a similar survey with 42 individuals
in São Paulo city; 27 (64.3%) reported buying MPV on
a regular basis. The main reasons for purchasing these
products were convenience (88.9%) and hygiene quality
(29.6%), and the main reason for not purchasing was high
price (52%). Amorim and Nascimento (2) found similar
results in supermarkets and grocery stores in two cities
in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Among 180 interviewed
individuals, 120 (66.7%) reported buying MPV regularly
because of convenience (58.3%) and quality (25%). Even
though the reasons for not buying these products were not
addressed, most interviewed individuals considered MPV
expensive (29.2%) or very expensive (30%). All these
studies were conducted in the southeastern region of Brazil.
To our knowledge, the present study is the first to address
consumption habits and perceptions regarding MPV in all
regions of the country.
Concerning the hygienic or sanitary quality of MPV,
these products usually go through a disinfection step
during processing and are sold as ready for consumption.
However, studies carried out in Brazil and other countries
have revealed the presence of pathogenic microorganisms
in these products, which may occur due to hygiene failures
at various points in the production chain (47). This finding
is concerning because MPV are eaten raw usually without
additional treatment (e.g., cooking) before consumption.
Although some researchers have evaluated the occurrence
of pathogenic microorganisms in MPV in Brazil, others
have used more complex tools, such as quantitative
microbiological risk assessment (QMRA), to estimate
the impact of the consumption of contaminated MPV on
consumer health. Sant'Ana et al. (45) developed a QMRA
model to estimate the risks of infection with Salmonella
and L. monocytogenes in the population of São Paulo, focusing
on the retail and consumption steps. Their simulations
revealed that the risks of foodborne illnesses due to the
consumption of MPV were higher for Salmonella than for
L. monocytogenes. However, the risk of infection and the
number of cases predicted in the exposed population were
reduced in scenarios where the prevalence and level of
pathogens were decreased and when MPV were stored
at <5°C. Maffei et al. (34) developed a QMRA model to
estimate the impact of cross-contamination during MPV
washing on the risk of salmonellosis in São Paulo. Their
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