New research shows Australians are sceptical about superfoods but still consume them as "extra insurance" for their health.
Jessica Loyer from the University of Adelaide's Food Values Research Group conducted research on superfood production, consumption, and discourse in Australia, and found that consumers see superfoods as “somewhere between food and medicine”.
Loyer and her team conducted focus groups with Australian consumers and visited local producers of the superfood maca in Peru as part of the research.
"In our focus groups with consumers, we found that this in-between quality is part of what makes superfoods so alluring, or 'seductive', as one participant put it,” she said.
“However, while there is a strong awareness among consumers about superfoods, they are also confused by what's on offer, what benefits they might provide, how much to consume, and many other aspects of their production and origins."
She said superfoods are often considered to be linked with the 'exotic' or 'primitive', and their consumption is a rejection of highly processed food.
Loyer said most consumers expressed scepticism towards superfood health claims and understood they are being "sold an image".
"Nevertheless, consumers are happy to succumb to a bit of magical thinking and eat superfoods as a sort of extra insurance, because they believe that these foods might help their health, and probably can’t hurt," she said.
