Barriers, facilitators, and interventions for tofu adoption among future nutritional gatekeepers (631.4)

Objective: Although soy foods such as Tofu are generally considered as healthful and sustainable, Tofu is unfamiliar and irregularly cooked at home by most non‐vegetarian Westerners. To begin encouraging a wider adoption of Tofu among non‐Asian, non‐vegetarians, this research examines what factors impact the adoption of Tofu by future by nutritional gatekeepers, those who will eventually control the majority of the foods that are eaten within their households. Methods: In‐depth laddering interviews were conducted with 83 young non‐vegetarian women and new mothers who were enthusiastic lovers of tofu. Following this, a questionnaire was designed and 502 women ranging from 20‐35 years old were surveyed through the internet. Finally, laboratory and in‐home cooking test were conducted to validate the impact of identified barriers on Tofu adoption Results: Several key barriers based in misinformation, including “Tofu is expensive” and “Tofu is difficult to cook” as well as “I don’t know how to cook Tofu” accounted for the majority of gatekeepers’ reluctance to try cooking tofu at home. Conclusions: Correcting or educating on these issues significantly increased willingness to try Tofu. These efforts were more persuasive than promoting the health benefits of Tofu as a low calorie source of lean protein. Grant Funding Source : House Foods America and The Cornell Food and Brand Lab