Factors determining neophobia and neophilia with regard to new technologies applied to the food sector: A systematic review

This systematic review was performed starting from the understanding of the complexity that characterizes the human relationship to food, combining different dimensions, ranging from those aspects going from the biological (nutritional function) to the cultural (symbolic function), as well as the ones linking the individual to the community, the psychological to the social. Addressing this multi-dimensional character is at the base of sound research paths aiming at assessing the determinants of consumers’ choices and behaviors. This systematic review analyses and synthetizes the main results of recent studies dealing with food neophobia and neophilia with regard to new technologies applied to the food sector, both in the context of developed countries and in developing ones. In particular, main factors leading to caution and aversion for food technologies were identified and discussed, as well as different approaches to measure consumers’ resistance to the mentioned technologies and to predict consumers’ behavior.