Food Science Food Choices © PDST Home Economics.

Food  Basic human need  Link between food choices and health is well known.  Many factors affect peoples choice of food.

Cultural influence on food choices Culture  Beliefs & values  Foods traditional in countries  Religion  Multicultural influence due to travel, immigration media, transport, processing.

Eating patterns & food choices  Lifestyle effects eating patterns which effects food choices.  Busy lifestyle means :convenience foods – ready to eat, little prep; fast food takeaways or eating out.  Family members eat separately, fewer family meals.

Sensory Aspect of Food Choice  The senses, esp. sight smell and taste, have a major role to play in food choices.  Consumers have expectations about the temperature, colour, appearance etc of food often established in childhood.  If food doesn’t meet these expectations they will not choose the food.

Nutritional Awareness and food choices  More people know about nutrition and health these days because of the work of The Health Promotion Unit and Bord Bia.  Many people want to eat a healthy diet consisting of fresh food low in sugar salt and fat, high in fibre, vitamins and minerals.  Many people wish to avoid GM foods and additives  All this will affect the food they choose to eat

Health status and food choices  Some people are on restricted diets e.g. diabetic and coeliac.  Some people have medical conditions that restrict their food choices e.g. heart disease, blood pressure.  Some people have food allergies e.g. nut allergies, lactose intolerance.

Availability and food choices  Seasonal foods e.g. Fresh Irish Strawberries  Location: people in rural locations may not have access to the same variety of foods and restaurants.

Finance  A Family on a low budget will have restricted choices in food for example needing to use cheaper cuts of meat and having meat free days etc… however this does not mean they cannot have a healthy diet.

Marketing, advertising and food choices  Marketing strategies and advertising on TV and in print influence our food choices