Circular eating: a pilot study in France and Ireland exploring the factors affecting the willingness to consume upcycled food products containing peels and trimming from fruit and vegetables

Significant amounts of fruit and vegetables are lost or wasted along their supply chain. A possible way to achieve reduction of food waste is to reuse the lost materials as upcycled ingredients. The aim of this study was to explore what factors influence the willingness of students from two countries with different culinary traditions to consume foods containing these ingredients. An online survey was distributed to students in France (n = 86) and Ireland (n = 99), gathering data on sociodemographic characteristics, food choice motives, food disgust and neophobia and willingness to consume different food products before and after being provided with information on the origin of the ingredients. Items related to food disgust and neophobia were negatively correlated with willingness to consume the investigated products. The findings showed that willingness to consume products containing upcycled ingredients may be product related in each country as participants in France were more willing to consume ice cream than their Irish counterparts, who after being informed that upcycled ingredients were used were more willing to consume crisps. These differences could be linked to differences in the food choice motives, as students in France considered familiarity, convenience, affordability and tradition important, while naturalness was important for the participants from Ireland. For both groups, paired t-test showed that willingness to consume the foods reduced after participants were informed about the origin of the ingredients. The findings of this pilot study provide the basis for further product development of foods containing upcycled ingredients.