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GM Crops & Food
Biotechnology in Agriculture and the Food Chain
Volume 14, 2023 - Issue 1
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Research Article

Providing appropriate information to consumers boosts the acceptability of genome-edited foods in Japan

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Pages 1-14 | Received 23 Apr 2023, Accepted 13 Jul 2023, Published online: 31 Jul 2023
 

ABSTRACT

The Japanese Health Ministry recently granted permission for the market distribution of genome-edited (GE) foods, yet there remains a lack of full understanding among consumers regarding this technology. In this study, we conducted a survey to assess the acceptability of GE foods among Japanese consumers and examined the impact of providing information about GE foods on their acceptability. We conducted a web-based survey among 3,408 consumers aged 20–69 years, focusing on three aspects: (1) the commercial availability of GE foods, (2) the consumption of GE foods by others, and (3) your own consumption of GE foods. The survey findings revealed that participants were most accepting of the consumption of GE foods by others, followed by their acceptance of GE foods being commercially available. Notably, participants’ acceptance of GE foods increased in all three aspects after they viewed an informative video. The video had a particularly strong impact on participants who fully or partially understood its content, compared to those who did not. Furthermore, regression analyses showed that participants’ understanding of two key areas, namely “Why are GE foods important” and “What procedures are in place to ensure the safety of GE foods,” played a crucial role in increasing acceptability. Overall, these results indicate that providing information about GE foods to Japanese consumers can effectively enhance their acceptance of such foods. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the benefits and safety measures associated with GE foods in influencing consumer attitudes.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Contributions

Research conception and design: CT, KK; survey: CT; statistical analysis of the data: CT; interpretation of the data: CT, NS, KS, SY, JN, MS, KK; writing of the manuscript: CT, NS, KS, SY, JN, MS, KK.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (JSPS/MEXT KAKENHI Grant Number 21K02105, 21H02469) and by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (21KA3003).