Anais do Simpósio Latino Americano de Ciências de Alimentos
Anais do 14 SLACA - Simpósio Latino Americano de Ciência de Alimentos

This study evaluated the perception of Brazilian consumers regarding the nutritional value, preparation/consumption preferences, and acceptance of genetically modified (GM) beans. An opinion survey was carried out using an electronic questionnaire from Google®. Of the total of 873 participants, 37% were from the Southeast, 30% from the Midwest, 22% from the South, and 11% from the North/Northeast. More than 44% of participants said they eat beans more than 5 times a week and describe beans as a yummy, traditional, and nutritious food. For them, beans are a food rich in iron (93%) and a source of protein (83%), that is not related to fattening (73%) and do not cause abdominal discomfort (82%). The consumers prefer carioca beans (55%) and black beans (32%) rather than colorful beans (yellow, pink, red, etc.). Regarding the possibility of consumption diversification, the consumer would not buy beans ready for consumption (51%), such as canned beans (58%). Instead, most of the consumers would eat products made with bean flour (78%), e.g., pasta and snacks (65%) and pâté for appetizers (57%). About the consumer's perception of GM products, the majority (87%) claimed to know that industrialized products have GM ingredients (e.g., soy and corn). In the principal components analysis (98.2%) it was identified that consumers who knew about the presence of GM ingredients in industrialized products would not be afraid to consume GM beans. There was an evident low acceptance (46%) of the term “transgenic” (and 36% of consumers fearful). So, there is an opportunity for undecided consumers to change their opinion in favor of GM, based on the adoption of the best marketing strategy to introduce GM beans on the market. Overall, when consumers access more information about the quality and nutritional value of the product, the greater is the trust and acceptance of GM beans.